Big three people and gods read the books
by luvWrites
Summary: All the big three kids of the future little percy and the gods as well as some visitors from the past read the percy jackson books
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hey guys this is my second story yes I plan to do all the books if you're looking for crazy romance go somewhere else because this is more of a cousin brother sister bonding type story. With a little bit of jealous Jason and Hercules because I just don't like them.

DISCLAIMER: I am not rick riordan I am not rick riordan I am not rick riordan ok I think I've finally convinced myself that I'm not a guy and not rick riordan therefore I own absolutely nothing so on with the story

**Chapter 1**

**We all gather to read...Wait what!**

Thalias POV

I was currently out on my own trying desperately to locate my younger brother and I don't mean Jason now don't get me wrong I love Jason but I don't know him well enough to fully consider him my baby brother the one I'm looking for is Percy Jackson yes he's not techiniquely my brother by blood but we still consider ourselves to be big sis and little bro I have always treated Percy as a little brother even as he grows older because he needs an older sibling to look out for him and besides its Percy he acts younger than me all the time. Well anyway I was out looking for him because he disappeared 7 months ago and I was desperate to find him without Percy I had no one to talk to annoy and no one to get in fights with there was nico but for the past few months he hasn't been around so I've been alone and I know I know I have my fellow hunters and artemis but I am their lieutenant I don't like to show all my weakness to them and Percy is someone whom I can always spill my guts out to I need him I was a wreck when he disappeared I was trying to be there for annabeth and be strong but inside I was crying how could my baby brother just disappear it was like Jason all over again I sighed as I thought about Percy when suddenly a magical blue light engulfed me

Nicos POV

I was currently sitting in the roman camp at hades shrine chilling I had seen Percy for the first time in months and it took all I had not to smile to run and hug him. But I held myself back pretending not to know him while inside I did a little happy dance when he seemed to recognize me. I sighed this week was going to be hard I was so close to my big brother but so far at the same time. I cursed Hera for doing this to us to annabeth and Thalia and sally and to me. I needed Percy in my life more than I cared to admit because around Percy I could be the thirteen year old I was instead of the adult I always pretended to be. I missed how Percy would get me candy and ruffle my hair and I especially missed Percy's acceptance he was the only one who truly believed that I belonged in camp everyone else thought I was disturbing and scary but thanks to Percy I realized I could belong in camp I owned him for the better relationship I had with my father. I leaned back on my dad's shrine and prayed that Percy wouldn't completely hate me once he got his memories back I opened my eyes and gasped as a blue light ate me.

Jason's POV

I was getting really tired of hearing Percy's name everywhere in camp junos plan was never going to work if camp half-blood refused to let me lead them I laughed to myself thinking that Percy probably felt the same after all he wouldn't survive 5 minutes at camp let alone become praetor. I smirked at that thought. Then frowned I knew I shouldn't hate Percy id never met him but I couldn't help but be bitter nico and thalia got along so well with Percy thalia my own flesh and blood sister thought of Percy as more of a brother than her It irked me how is Percy so great I bet he hasn't done half the stuff I've done. I bet that's why no one wants to talk about it there's nothing they could say that would be impressive…yup that's got to bit it I thought smiling in a better mood I turned to go talk to piper when I walked straight into a blue light and was gone.

Hazels POV

I just met Percy Jackson and boy is he amazing and hot but he's already told me about his old girlfriend and I'm not too upset about after all there's still frank I felt my cheeks heat and shook my head I would not fall for frank I turned my thoughts back to the enigma that was Perseus Jackson. He had the whole camp in a buzz not only did he carry juno into camp and save frank using his crazy water powers but he also had the audacity to be disrespectful to juno it was remarkable. Percy Jackson was definitely something else that was for sure I'm not the only girl who thought he was a god in fact a few girls still think he is with all that power and good looks but Percy's different somehow from other guys I've never wanted to spill all my worries and secrets out to anyone before but when I'm talking to Percy it's like I can't help myself my mouth just wants to open and spill my guts to him. I can't wait for war games I have a feeling tonight war games will change the way people look at all of us in the fifth cohort I fist pumped into the air randomly and before I could do anything I was kidnapped by glowing blue light

Hercules POV

Me and Perseus and Orion and Theseus were on earth taking a break before the gods decided to give us any more quests not that I cared as I am amazing an could probably do anything you put me up to but still we deserved a break we were currently arguing about who had the coolest powers childish probably but we are our fathers sons although we were all cousins and siblings we didn't get a long at all even me and Perseus and Orion and Theseus who have the same fathers fought constantly it was all we knew I mean how could any of us get along it was in our blood to hate each other so I saw no reason to change as we were arguing and I was winning obviously a blue light snuck up on us and swallowed us.

Olympus before World War 2

Hestia's POV

The summer solstice was underway which means the world was suffering for the day as the gods lost their tempers and fought with each other. Hestia, Dionysus, Hephaestus, and surprisingly Ares were the only quiet gods. Ares was watching the fights smiling as he sharpened his sword and Hephaestus was tinkering and Dionysus was flipping through a wine magazine Hestia sat in her hearth watching her younger brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews fight prank and just causing chaos. She sighed sadly Poseidon hades and Zeus were arguing over whose domain was better and Athena was having a debate with hera who seemed to be losing but what did she expect Persephone was arguing with her mother and artemis and Aphrodite looked to be starting a full out brawl and of course Hermes and Apollo were pulling pranks and laughing their a's off. She smiled slightly unable to help herself because all though they were fighting you could still tell they were close there were no great prophecies to worry about and for the most part Olympus was in peace and just as she thought it a blue light lit the room depositing 4 older muscular looking guys who seemed to be in an argument they looked familiar but I couldn't place them because the light had yet to die down as 4 younger looking teenagers were deposited as well as a small boy and a cardboard box. The light died down and the Olympians stared in shock I gasped out loud the first four figures were the great heroes of old I didn't recognize the others. "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE" Zeus thundered(all puns intended) All the demigods jumped out of their skins at his tone and quickly kneeled one of the girls from the younger teens spoke up "did you not call us here"

"no why would I don't know you"

"what but.." Athena interrupted "I believe I might know what is going on what year is it"

"2012" Athena smiled "just as I thought your group traveled backward in time and the others traveled forward" the girl who spoke looked over to the other four and gaped then turned toward Athena "but how did this happen lady Athena" Athena shrugged "I'm not sure" Hermes gasped "Athena not sure run for your lives the world is ending"

"shut up Hermes" hera stated sounding annoyed hera huffed before any other god or demigod could comment a small letter floated down Zeus grabbed it and read

"Dear Gods and Demigods of past and future,

In the cardboard box you will find a set of books telling the tale of an amazing demi god we hope this will help you shape the future for the better. Starting now Olympus has been closed and time has been stopped outside of Olympus so the gods won't have to worry about their kingdoms. There is no maiming or deaths allowed in this area so don't even try anything that will cause serious injury or death will have no effect.

Sincerely the fates"

"Well then I suggest we let the heroes introduce themselves and then get started reading" I stated Hermes and Apollo groaned when I said read but everyone ignored them the older heroes stepped up first. A buff guy stepped forward wearing a lion skin "my name is Hercules son of Zeus" The next one stepped forward he had black hair and was slightly less muscular than Hercules "I am Perseus" next was a scrawnier guy who was still pretty athletic looking and looked witty as well "I am Theseus". And last but not least another man stepped forward that made artemis gasp "I'm am Orion" next were the younger heroes the girl who spoke earlier stepped forward and had black hair and a punk rock style but on her head was a silver circlet the mark of the hunters lieutenant I wondered what fate befell Zoë I had liked the girl. "I am thalia daughter of Zeus", The younger of the two boys went next "I'm nico son of hades" said the other girl "I thought…" but nico interrupted "it will be explained I'm sorry I lied I was sworn to secrecy the other two looked confused the older looking boy stepped forward "Jason grace son of Jupiter" the gods flickered to their roman counterparts strict vesta shining through for a moment before going back to Greek "JASON" the other girl cried before anyone could question the roman she hugged him and Jason smiled "hi hazel how are you"

"good we all missed you Jason" the girl hazel stated then she stepped forward "I'm hazel Lévesque daughter of Pluto".

"Why are there romans with a bunch of Greeks" Athena asked

"long story probably be explained in the books" said thalia Athena nodded and Zeus waved his hand causing 2 couches to appear one for the new heroes and one for the old all the new heroes sat together thalia nico hazel Jason while only 2 heroes of old sat on the floor while the others sat on the couch. On the couch was Theseus and Hercules and on the ground Perseus and Orion. The gods all shrunk down and sat on smaller thrones so they would be able to read as a group better I got down and sat at the base of artemises throne she smiled at me and asked if I'd like a thrown but I shook my head liking where I was.

Thalias POV

After we were all settled I leaned forward "alright where's this box of books" we all looked around I spotted it some feet away and groaned it was a pretty big box which meant a lot of books. Never mind found it I stated and stood up to get it I walked over and was about to pick it up when I saw a tuft of black hair peeking out from behind the box I put my hands on my hips "you the one behind the box show yourself". I must have said it too harshly because the boy or who I assumed was a boy whimpered and hid more I dropped my hands a sighed "its ok I won't hurt you I swear please come out" the kid peeked his out from behind the box and I smiled at him he ran over to me and attached himself to my legs he couldn't have been older than six and he was shaking like a leaf hey "its ok no one's gunna hurt you ok" he nodded and slowly released me I made my way over to the box and picked it up the boy sticking close I took the box back to the other to see them staring at us "wow this who knew you could be so nice" I glared at nico "so who's the kid" Jason asked "I don't know but he's here for a reason"

"you don't recognize him" hazel said smiling at the little boy

"no do you"

hazel held her hand out for the boy he took it she held his hands and asked "is your name by any chance Percy Jackson" I stared at hazel dumbstruck until I saw the little boy nod and say "yeah how did you know" I stared at the boy this was Percy I smiled and laughed as I really looked at him it was hard to believe I hadn't recognized him he had messy black hair and see green eyes that were big and round he was wearing a blue shirt and a pair of jeans his little tennis shoes were untied and he looked absolutely adorable we all introduced ourselves to Percy he jumped on me when I told him I was his big sis and then laughed when nico said that he was like his big bro. everyone else introduced themselves and we explained about the gods he looked at them in awe "who's my daddy" nico opened his mouth but I slapped my hand over it and stated "it's a surprise so introduce yourself"

"ok" he said before turning to face the others "hi I'm Perseus Jackson but you can call me Percy cause peruses is weird" he said smiling the original Perseus looked a bit miffed as his brother and cousins tried to hold in their snorts at his name being called weird "how old are you Percy" Hestia asked

"I'm this many" Percy said holding up 5 pudgy fingers "wow" Hestia said

"yup" Percy replied looking proud I laughed same old Percy even as a five year old. Once we got Percy settled on my lap we opened the box "hmm there are a ton of books but all of them are blank except this one"

"probably because we have to read them in order" Athena stated "well Hermes why don't you start since you have the book" Hermes shrugged and opened it to the first chapter of the book didn't have a title and read

**"Chapter one: I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher….."**

AN: so how is it to let me know please review I'm so excited for this story as I've wanted to do one for a while now The first chapter should be up soon so review flames are accepted but if you're going to flame me about copyright know that your comment will be ignored as I don't really give a damn thank you!


	2. chapter 2

AN: next chapter up :) I'm am trying really hard with grammar and spelling but I'm still not very good at it so please bear with me it will get better

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing I am not rick riordan trust me I own a mirror and I know I look nothing like him and that's ok with me as I am a teenage girl so now that that's settled on with the story

**Chapter one: I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher.**

"Well that's an odd title" Athena stated

"It's Percy" Thalia said shrugging with a smile on her face. Gods she missed Percy.

**Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood.**

"No one does" nico said the others all nodded and the gods looked a bit guilty

**If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: **

"Oh god no" Nico yelled dramatically

"Percy giving advice" Thalia replied just as dramatic as Nico

"Run" they yelled together.

"You know you sound like the Stoll brothers" Jason said to them eyebrows raised.

…

**,close this book right now, Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life**

"Wouldn't work but nice try perce"

**Being a half-blood is dangerous. It's scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways.**

"That doesn't sound fun" little Percy said

"No" whispered Thalia sadness apparent in her eyes "no it isn't fun" Percy responded by squeezing her hand and smiling at her making Thalia smile back

**If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think it's fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened.**

"Why would mortals be reading this" Athena asked no one had an answer so Hermes continued to read.

**But if you recognize yourself I these pages – if you feel something stirring inside – stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before ****_they_**** sense it too, and they'll come for you.**

"Dun Dun Dun" Nico stated dramatically Hazel smacked him upside the head "ow" Percy giggled "oooh ooh let me try" and he proceeded to hit nico as well thalia was laughing and nico was pouting

**Don't say I didn't warn you.**

"if anyone says it i'll hurt you" Artemis said glaring mainly at Apollo and Hermes both of which had their mouths open ready to respond they both proceeded to pout which made little Percy giggle.

**My name is Percy Jackson.**

"No it isn't that's my name you shouldn't lie mommy says its bad" Percy stated in a matter of fact voice Hermes stared at Percy and was about to give him some pointers on lying when hera glared at him. So he quickly read not wanting to be scolded as some of the other gods and demigods snorted at Percy's comment the heroes of old found the boy to be fascinating as he seemed to be held in high respect by the other heroes.

**I'm twelve years old. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.**

**Am I a troubled kid?**

"YES" was chorused by thalia and nico. The heroes of old looked at each other confused why would they say that about their friend slash brother in all but blood. Jason had the same question and asked it out loud "well because its true Percy is certifiably insane at times and you'll see what we mean in these books" Thalia answered.

**Yeah. You could say that.**

"See he agrees" Nico stated smiling

**I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan— twenty-eight mental-case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff.**

"If annabeth was here she would have said it was fascinating" said Thalia

"Who's annabeth"

"Annabeth is your daughter Athena". Athena smiled at this knowledge

"I find it fascinating as well" said Theseus

"Its torture" Nico stated

**I know—it sounds like torture.**

Athena huffed and nico smiled "I called it" he stated happily

**Most Yancy field trips were.**

**But Mr. Brunner, our Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so I had hopes.**

**Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee. You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games**

"Ooo games sound fun lets play a game thalia" said Percy turning around in thalia's lap "what kind of game"

"let's play patty cake mommy plays that with me all the time it's so fun"

"Ok" and so they played patty cake until Hera who was already annoyed snapped "alright enough let's keep reading" Percy stuck his tongue out her and said "party pooper" all the gods sniggered not believing that a kid could talk to the queen of the gods that way" Hera looked shocked then she glared at the little boy but he was already off talking to nico about how he hopes that his daddy's not a party pooper like the mean lady is Hera's fists gripped her throne and thalia laughed quietly only Percy she thought

** in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep.**

"He sleeps in class how in the world is he supposed to learn"

"Chill owl head I'm sure he'll manage" Athena harrumphed and Poseidon smiled smugly

**I hoped the trip would be okay. At least, I hoped that for once I wouldn't get in trouble.**

**Boy, was I wrong.**

"Your always wrong perce" Thalia stated

"And always in trouble" Nico added percy stuck his tongue out at them

**See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus, **

It was quiet for 5 seconds and then everyone burst into laughter

"Oh my gosh this is kid is pure gold" Apollo stated Hermes nodded in agreement

The male gods were laughing full out while the female gods were trying to seem disapproving but were failing

Thalia and nico were doubled over in laughter

Hazel was laughing as well but she was sad shed never seen this side of Percy sure he had been funny and happy but never this carefree what had happened to change that

Jason was all smiles god Percy Jackson must be an idiot if this is what he does

Perseus and Orion and Theseus were laughing their butts off while Hercules was trying to remain calm and keep up his cool persona

Hermes waited until the rest had calmed down before continuing

**But of course I got expelled anyway.**

A new round of laughter echoed through the room Hermes smiled down at little Percy who was laughing with the rest although you could tell he didn't know exactly why they were laughing at "your amazing kid" he said "I wish you were mine but I don't think that's the case"

**And before that, at my fourth-grade school, when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim. And the time before that... Well, you get the idea.**

"NO! More tell us more this is amazing" Apollo said between bursts of laughter Artemis rolled her eyes at her brother but couldn't keep a smile off her face

**This trip, I was determined to be good.**

"Ah screw being good" Ares stated

**All the way into the city, I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting my best friend Grover** **in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich.**

Thalias eyes narrowed dangerously she was a lot like Percy in the sense that you don't mess with her friends

**Grover was an easy target. **

"Oh geez Percy I thought he was your best friend" Nico stated

"He's my best friend that's so cool I don't have a lot of best friends" Percy said jumping up and down on Thalia's lap Nico frowned slightly at his words but shook it off

**He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated. He must've been held back several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard **

Percy laughed "beard are weird" he stated laughing all the male gods with beards fingered them looking a bit insulted while little percy just giggled away

**on his chin. On top of all that, he was crippled.**

"Wow way to describe your best friend" Jason stated a bit condescendingly Percy scowled at him and Jason rolled his eyes the kid was about as intimidating as an ant

**He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but don't let that fool you. You should've seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.**

"Nice going Grover way to blow your cover" Thalia said shaking her head

**Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly brown hair, and she knew I couldn't do anything back to her because I was already on probation. The headmaster had threatened me with death by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip.**

"Aww but that's no fun" Apollo whined

**"I'm going to kill her," I mumbled.**

Ares eyes shined with malice "do it do it do it"

"Ares shut up" Hera stated throwing her son a disapproving look Ares just shrugged it off

**Grover tried to calm me down. "It's okay. I like peanut butter."**

"Ya so do I" said hazel "but not in my hair and definitely not mixed with ketchup" Percy mimed a gag motion and hazel nodded smiling little Percy was so adorable

**He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.**

**"That's it." I started to get up, but Grover pulled me back to my seat.**

"That stupid goat" Ares snarled "let him fight"

Thalia rolled her eyes like father like daughter

**"You're already on probation," he reminded me. "You know who'll get blamed if anything happens."**

"I wonder how he got on probation" Nico asked but of course no one answered him. Little percy just shrugged.

**Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there.**

"He would hit a girl" Hera stated shocked

"If she did something bad enough sure" Thalia stated Hera simply ignored having not gotten over the fact that her husband had cheated on her stupid demigods

**In-school suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into.**

**Mr. Brunner led the museum tour.**

**He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery.**

**It blew my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand, three thousand years.**

Athena smiled down at little Percy "longer than that young one" Percy smiled at her and hopped down from thalia's lap and walked over to Athena and raised his arms in an upward motion Athena looked a bit shocked but smiled and lifted the boy into her arms Percy smiled and snuggled closer

"Do you think he'll be safe there when she figures out whose son he is" nico asked Thalia. She shrugged "just keep an eye on her nico nodded"

**He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top **

**,and started telling us how it was a grave marker, a ****_stele, _****for a girl about our age. He told us about the carvings on the sides. I was trying to listen to what he had to say, because it was kind of interesting, but everybody around me was talking, and every time I told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give me the evil eye.**

"Monster" Thalia stated

"Monsters are bad and scary" percy said to athena in a teacher like way

**Mrs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker. She had come to Yancy halfway through the year, when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown.**

"That sounds so familiar" nico thought but from where

I wonder what the boy has done that I have sent Alecto after him hades wondered staring at the kid who was chatting happily with Athena

**From her first day, Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured I was devil spawn. She would point her crooked finger at me and say, "Now, honey," real sweet, and I knew I was going to get after-school detention for a month.**

"Monster" Thalia stated again

**One time, after she'd made me erase answers out of old math workbooks until midnight, I told Grover I didn't think Mrs. Dodds was human. He looked at me, real serious, and said, "You're absolutely right."**

"I called it" Thalia said smiling

"Really we didn't hear you the first two times" nico stated sarcasm dripping from his voice thalia glared and poked him sending a shock through nico who yelped and pushed himself away from her.

**Mr. Brunner kept talking about Greek funeral art.**

**Finally, Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele, and I turned around and said, "Will you ****_shut up_****?"**

**It came out louder than I meant it to.**

"Percy never could keep his mouth shut" Thalia stated fondly

"Well at least he's trying to listen" Athena said approvingly to percy who beamed up at her

**The whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner stopped his story.**

**"Mr. Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?"**

**My face was totally red. I said, "No, sir."**

**Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. **

**"Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?**

"One drachma says he's wrong" Jason said nico glared "one drachma says he's right" nico always thought Jason seemed a bit too perfect and based on his last few comments was probably slightly jealous of Percy which didn't sit well with nico

**I looked at the carving, and felt a flush of relief, because I actually recognized it. "That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"**

Nico smirked "ha pay up" Jason grumbled as he 'paid up'

**"And he ****_did _****this because ..."**

"Maybe he was hungry" Percy said sitting up straight Hermes and Apollo burst into laughter and everyone else looked at Percy weirdly

"Percy let's not eat people even when you're hungry ok" Percy nodded to Athena

**"Well..." I racked my brain to remember. "Kronos was the king god,**

**and—"**

"GOD I feel incredibly insulted as I am the king god" Zeus stated looking at the little boy angrily "I'm sure Chiron will correct him brother" Poseidon stated trying to calm his brother this boy felt special to him.

**"God?" Mr. Brunner asked.**

**"Titan," I corrected myself.**

"See" Poseidon said. Zeus just ignored him

** "And ... he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead.**

"Yes because mother favored him" hades stated bitterly while Zeus puffed up his chest

"No brother, Zeus here just looked the most like a rock" Poseidon stated hades laughed a bit "yes I can see the resemblance" Zeus just glared at his two brothers

Nico and Thalia looked shocked the brothers seemed closer than in there time then Thalia sighed as she remembered that world war two had yet to happen and that the big prophecy had not yet been given it was hard to believe how things would change in the future

**And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters—"**

**"Eeew!" said one of the girls behind me.**

Demeter and Hera and Hestia shuddered "try being there" Demeter stated looking a bit green

**"—and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," I continued, "and the gods won."**

"I can't believe it he just summed up the biggest war in our history in one sentence" Athena said looking down at Percy shocked

"That's Percy for you" nico stated

**Some snickers from the group.**

"Why he got it right" Athena stated

"Ugh mortals don't try to understand them" Hera stated saying the word mortal as if it were some disease

**Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"**

"I hate to say this but she has a point" Apollo stated

**"And why, Mr. Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"**

"Busted" Theseus said the heroes of new jumped they had forgotten the other heroes were there because they hadn't commented in a while though I suppose it makes sense thalia thought they are probably a bit confused as to what half the stuff in this book is even referring to

**"Busted," Grover muttered.**

"Ha you think like a goat brother" Orion said laughing Theseus glared but Hermes continued before he could respond

**"Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair.**

**At least Nancy got packed, too. Mr. Brunner was the only one who ever caught her saying anything wrong. He had radar ears.**

**I thought about his question, and shrugged. "I don't know, sir."**

**"I see." Mr. Brunner looked disappointed. "Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. **

The gods who were in said stomach shuddered and Zeus smiled smugly Percy looked completely shocked and looked at hades who was closest "you grew up in a tummy" hades nodded looking a bit green Percy smiled "cool was it gross? What did you eat? how was there enough room in the tummy for all of you?... Mr. your turning kinda green are you sick?" Poseidon was trying very hard not to laugh as hades tried tune out the child's questions as they were making him think of things he did not want to remember "Percy let's leave uncle hades alone for now ok" Percy nodded and turned forward again .

**The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"**

"Ah you've got to love Chiron"

"Who" hazel asked "I thought his name was Brunner"

"Don't worry hazel you'll find out" nico said and hazel nodded

**The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other around and acting like doofuses.**

"All men act like doofuses it's in their nature" Artemis stated

"I agree" Thalia said and Artemis smiled at her wondering in her head what had happened to Zoë but she didn't ask she would find out soon enough and she was sure she wouldn't like it

**Grover and I were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said, "Mr. Jackson."**

**I knew that was coming.**

Apollo smiled "so did I for I am the god of…" an arrow interrupted him as it landed next to his head Apollo gulped and Artemis smiled happily setting her bow down

**I told Grover to keep going. Then I turned toward Mr. Brunner. "Sir?"**

**Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn't let you go— intense brown eyes that could've been a thousand years old and had seen everything.**

**"You must learn the answer to my question," Mr. Brunner told me.**

**"About the Titans?"**

"Wow this kid is an idiot" Jason said aloud Thalia nico and hazel glared at him making Jason's anger grow how they could not see how stupid this kid was

**"About real life. And how your studies apply to it."**

**"Oh."**

**"What you learn from me," he said, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson."**

**I wanted to get angry; this guy pushed me so hard.**

"It's how you learn" said Athena to little Percy who nodded at her

**I mean, sure, it was kind of cool on tournament days, when he dressed up in a suit of Roman armor and shouted: "What ho!'" and challenged us, sword-point against chalk, to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman person who had ever ****_lived, _****and their mother, and what god they worshipped.**

"That sounds awesome and yet awful at the same time" nico stated Thalia rolled his eyes at him

**But Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everybody else, despite the fact that I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder and I had never made above a C— in my life. No—he didn't expect me to be ****_as good; _****he expected me to be ****_better. _****And I just couldn't learn all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly.**

"Like I said awful"

**I mumbled something about trying harder, while Mr. Brunner took one long sad look at the stele, like he'd been at this girl's funeral.**

**He told me to go outside and eat my lunch.**

**The class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where we could watch the foot traffic along Fifth Avenue.**

"Sounds pleasant" said Demeter sarcastically

**Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city. **

Percy shivered and snuggled up to athena more "I don't like storms" he said

**I figured maybe it was global warming or something, because the weather all across New York State had been weird since Christmas.**

"Don't worry Zeus is probably just throwing a tantrum" said hades making Zeus glare at him

**We'd had massive snow storms, flooding, wildfires from lightning strikes. I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in.**

"That sounds like a bit more than a tantrum" Athena stated "it seems as though father and kelp head are fighting over something big" Athena looked over at the futures hazel shrugged "roman" she stated "me too" Jason added they looked to thalia and nico who both shrugged "we have no clue what happens as we weren't in the first two quests Percy went on and we were never told the details"

"Wait Percy went on a quest when he was twelve" hazel asked shocked and impressed

"He's been on a quest every year. Don't worry the books will explain"

**Nobody else seemed to notice. Some of the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchables crackers. Nancy Bobofit was trying to pickpocket something from a lady's purse, and, of course, Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing.**

**Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn't know we were from ****_that _****school—the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it elsewhere.**

"Grover and Percy are not loser freaks" Thalia ground out her teeth clenched

**"Detention?" Grover asked.**

**"Nah," I said. "Not from Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean—I'm not a genius."**

Thalia's angry demeanor vanished as she burst into laughter long with nico "truer words have never been spoken" nico stated

The heroes of old looked confused they all seemed to really care about this guy then they turn around and insult him what kinds of friends were they and then they stopped and looked at each other that was what they did to each other all the old heroes felt a bi guilty for a minute before they shook it off why should they feel guilty they turned back to Hermes

**Grover didn't say anything for a while. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said, "Can I have your apple?"**

Thalia snorted shaking her head fondly

**I didn't have much of an appetite, so I let him take it.**

"Percy not having an appetite crazy" hazel stated Thalia looked at her confused and hazel smiled "last night at dinner he ate two whole pizzas" the gods looked at the little boy in shock how could someone eat like that

**I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat. I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I wanted so bad to jump in a taxi and head home. She'd hug me and be glad to see me, but she'd be disappointed, too.**

"Aww" Hestia cooed

Hera smiled "see this is how you should treat your mother" Hephaestus snorted and Hera glared at him

**She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to be kicked out again. I wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me.**

Artemis smiled slightly at this the boy really did care about his mother and what she thought of him it was a rare trait in males

**Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized cafe table.**

**I was about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of me with her ugly friends—I guess she'd gotten tired of stealing from the tourists—and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap.**

** "**Percy best do something to her because she is pissing me off" Thalia growled out

**"Oops." She grinned at me with her crooked teeth. Her freckles were orange, as if somebody had spray-painted her face with liquid Cheetos.**

"Someone needs a makeover" Aphrodite said from behind her hand mirror where she was applying even more makeup

**I tried to stay cool. The school counselor had told me a million times, "Count to ten, get control of your temper." But I was so mad my mind went blank. A wave roared in my ears.**

Athena gasped and looked down at the little boy Thalia looked at Athena apprehensively

**I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!"**

**Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us.**

**Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see—"**

**"—the water—"**

**"—like it grabbed her—"**

Athena groaned as her theory was confirmed she stared down at the little boy how could this cute little thing be a sea spawn it was just her luck she thought scowling

Poseidon smiled so the boy was his son that was why he had felt so special to him he looked over to Athena and rolled her eyes at her scowling face before he summoned a wave that lifted Percy up and brought him to Poseidon Percy giggled as he rode the wave then he was deposited in a lap and stared up into sparkling sea green eyes that mirrored his own suddenly he had a small flashback and he could remember the hand in his hair and the warm smile and he knew Percy hugged the man and said softly "hi daddy its nice to meet you" Poseidon was a bit shocked at the hug but smiled softly "hello son" suddenly Percy started to cry "why did you leave mommy and me?! Why?" Poseidon's heart broke as he watched fat tears slide down the boy's face. "I'm sure that I didn't have a choice Percy but know that I was always watching out for you" and Poseidon prayed to the fates that his future self was doing just that. Percy nodded and stopped crying but left his head buried in Poseidon's chest as Poseidon held him close

Thalia and nico smiled Percy and his dad were always super close it made them a bit jealous but they shook it off after all the crap Percy went through he deserved it

The heroes of old were shocked they hadn't imagined the boy to be big three material but here he was a son of Poseidon Orion and theses stared at the little boy their little brother then their faces hardened they would see in these books whether Percy deserved to be their brother

The other gods just smiled at the two and Thalia and nico looked a bit shocked and nico whispered to Thalia it's kind of weird that their not yelling at him.

Yeah but the oath hasn't been made yet so there's no reason for them to be upset they don't know that it was forbidden that's why they didn't freak when we introduced ourselves thalia whispered back the two stared at each other how would they react when they heard about the oath and the prophecy will it really change the future for the better or worst

**I didn't know what they were talking about. All I knew was that I was in trouble again.**

**As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc., etc., Mrs. Dodds turned on me. There was a triumphant fire in her eyes, as if I'd done something she'd been waiting for all semester. "Now, honey—"**

"Oh" nico stated suddenly remembering why she sounded familiar it was Alecto she was the only monster that called everyone honey it was slightly disturbing. He started to grow worried he knew Alecto was one of the more violent furies and that combined with the fact that Percy didn't have a weapon or know how to defend himself worried him.

**"I know," I grumbled. "A month erasing workbooks."**

"No don't guess your own punishment I just makes it worse that's one of the first rules" Hermes grumbled the others looked at him confused by what he was saying Hermes waved them off and continued to read

**That wasn't the right thing to say.**

**"Come with me," Mrs. Dodds said.**

**"Wait!" Grover yelped. "It was me. ****_I _****pushed her."**

"Grover you brave satyr" Thalia stated smiling

**I stared at him, stunned. I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for me. Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death.**

**She glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled.**

**"I don't think so, Mr. Underwood," she said.**

**"But—"**

**"You—****_will_**—**stay—here."**

**Grover looked at me desperately.**

**"It's okay, man," I told him. "Thanks for trying."**

**"Honey," Mrs. Dodds barked at me. "****_Now_****."**

"Ugh is honey her new thing" hades asked looking annoyed

"yup" nico replied "it's a bit disturbing actually"

**Nancy Bobofit smirked.**

**I gave her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare.**

"Chh I bet it's not worse than mine" Ares boasted

"Actually it is I've been on the receiving end and its terrifying"

"Why did he glare at you son" hades inquired

Nico sighed and looked down "let's just say I did something stupid"

**Then I turned to face Mrs. Dodds, but she wasn't there. She was standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at me to come on.**

**How'd she get there so fast?**

"Monster" Thalia said in a sing song voice.

"Yes its already been established that she's a monster" nico said then yelped as Thalia shocked him

**I have moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed something, as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it. The school counselor told me this was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.**

"Don't be so sure son" said Poseidon looking a bit worried

**I wasn't so sure.**

Like father like son

**I went after Mrs. Dodds.**

**Halfway up the steps, I glanced back at Grover. He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between me and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on, but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel.**

Poseidon grumbled about how Chiron should pay way more attention to his son

**I looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall.**

**Okay, I thought. She's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop.**

"Somehow I don't think that's the plan" Theseus stated

**But apparently that wasn't the plan.**

"No duh" Jason muttered but Thalia heard him and glared

**I followed her deeper into the museum. When I finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section.**

**Except for us, the gallery was empty.**

"No no no no no" Poseidon chanted

**Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, like growling.**

**Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds. Something about the way she looked at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it...**

Probably did thought hades

**"You've been giving us problems, honey," she said.**

Everyone looked confused that wasn't normally how monsters started off

**I did the safe thing. I said, "Yes, ma'am."**

"Holy shit he did the safe thing"

"Nico language" Thalia said smacking him upside the head

**She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"**

"Get away with what?" Athena inquired everyone shrugged "

the only thing I know is that something big was stolen and Percy had to go retrieve it but I'm not quite sure what was stolen"

**The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil.**

"Ya well she is a kindly one" nico muttered to himself

**She's a teacher, I thought nervously. It's not like she's going to hurt me.**

Thalia was starting to get nervous now her little brother was all alone with some monster and he didn't know how to defend himself but then she took a deep breath and remembered he was alive in the future so he couldn't have died

Poseidon on the other hand didn't have that knowledge and was close to hyperventilating

**I said, "I'll—I'll try harder, ma'am."**

**Thunder shook the building.**

What is going on with Zeus all the gods and heroes thought even Zeus was wondering why he was so angry

**"We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."**

**I didn't know what she was talking about.**

"Well that isn't new I would be shocked if he did know" Thalia stated dryly

**All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room.**

"Uncle p your kid is amazing" Apollo said smiling

**Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on ****_Tom Sawyer _****from the Internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the book.**

"It's a good book Percy" Athena said to the younger version who just stared back confused from Poseidon's lap

**"Well?" she demanded.**

**"Ma'am, I don't..."**

**"Your time is up," she hissed.**

**Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons.**

"A FURY you sent a fury after my son" Poseidon roared at hades looking incredibly pissed squeezing Percy closer to his chest as if by protecting the smaller version would help the older one hades looked startled "it wasn't me it was my future self I have no control over what he does" this calmed Poseidon down and he sat looking incredibly worried "read Hermes" Hermes complied not wanting to anger Poseidon further

Thalia looked horrified her little brothers first monster was a fury. The tension in the room mounted.

**Then things got even stranger.**

"How does it get stranger than that" Hercules Questioned?

**Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.**

"That is weird" Perseus said

"How's a pen going to help him" Jason Asked?

**"What ho, Percy!" **

**he shouted, and tossed the pen through the air.**

**Mrs. Dodds lunged at me.**

The room was filled with tension as everyone froze leaning towards Hermes as he read wanting to know what would happen to Percy

**With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but when it hit my hand, it wasn't a pen anymore. It was a sword—Mr. Brunner's bronze sword, which he always used on tournament day.**

"Oh so that's how a pen would help"

Poseidon looked down at his son in worry knowing that his son was destined to possess such a cursed sword made him worried

**Mrs. Dodds spun toward me with a murderous look in her eyes.**

**My knees were jelly. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the sword.**

"Wimp" Ares said and received a cold shower in return

**She snarled, "Die, honey!"**

Nico although worried couldn't help but roll his eyes this honey thing was super annoying

**And she flew straight at me.**

**Absolute terror ran through my body. I did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword.**

"Swinging a sword is natural when your twelve!" hazel asked in shock

"For Percy it is" nico stated "he's the best swordsman in the last 300 years"

Jason rolled his eyes I bet Percy Jackson can't beat me he thought I beat a titan

**The metal blade hit her shoulder**

There were sighs of relief throughout the room and Poseidon tossed little Percy in the air and caught him in his happiness that his boy was alive Percy giggled and laughed snuggling up to his father again after not knowing the man Percy didn't want to let him go

** and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water. ****_Hisss!_**

"I have a feeling he's going to make a lot of water puns throughout this book" Thalia stated

**Mrs. Dodds was a sand castle in a power fan. She exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing red eyes were still watching me.**

Hazel shivered at just the thought of those eyes watching her

**I was alone.**

**There was a ballpoint pen in my hand.**

**Mr. Brunner wasn't there. Nobody was there but me.**

"Seriously he's still letting the mist affect him even after all that" Jason said scathingly

"He must be a real moron" Hercules added

"Watch what you say he is our brother" Orion said

"Then you must be humiliated to have such a brother" Hercules shot back

"Both of you enough" Hestia yelled "please! arguing like that will get you nowhere" both heroes bowed their heads to her and she nodded to Hermes to continue

**My hands were still trembling. My lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something.**

Nico snorted

**Had I imagined the whole thing?**

"Nope" nico said

**I went back outside.**

**It had started to rain.**

**Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw me, she said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."**

"Who" Poseidon asked now that he could actually comment now that his son was out of danger

"Obviously it's the mist seaweed breath" Athena said

**I said, "Who?"**

Poseidon smiled

"Like father like son"

"Shut up owl head he doesn't know about the mist"

**"Our ****_teacher._** **Duh!"**

**I blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr. I asked Nancy what she was talking about.**

**She just rolled her eyes and turned away.**

"That really sucks now he's going to think he's going crazy" Thalia said

**I asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was.**

**He said, "Who?"**

**But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at me, so I thought he was messing with me.**

"We've got to teach that satyr how to lie"

"You will not! Hermes don't mess with my satyrs" everyone gaped at Mr. D it was the first thing he said all chapter and it was also….caring he just rolled his eyes at us and stuck his nose back into his magazine

**"Not funny, man," I told him. "This is serious."**

**Thunder boomed overhead.**

Look dad agrees Thalia said smiling

**I saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book, as if he'd never moved.**

**I went over to him.**

**He looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."**

**I handed Mr. Brunner his pen. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.**

**"Sir," I said, "where's Mrs. Dodds?"**

**He stared at me blankly. "Who?"**

**"The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."** **He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?"**

"Now that children is how you lie" Hermes stated "and it's the end of the chapter who's next"

"I will" said Athena and Hermes tossed her the book

AN: ok there it is folks hope you enjoyed it also please check out my other story im still debating whether I should leave it as a one shot or not but anyway I love these reading the book fics and so I'm thinking about doing other series as well Alex rider or maybe harry potter but I'm not sure yet if you would like a certain series or want me to do one of those let me know and don't worry I will be completing all the pj books also about this story I know it doesn't have a lot of the heroes of old but they'll get more story time when percy starts meeting monsters and stuff like that anyway please review percy would want you too


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Here's the next chapter thanks for all who reviews I'm glad you enjoyed it I am planning to bring zoe in but not until the third book I don't really want to bring annabeth in just because I don't really like writing romance but I might consider bringing in frank or maybe piper and leo but we'll see.

DISCLAIMER: again I am not rick riordan and I own nothing.

Now on with the story…

**Three old ladies knit the Socks of Death,"** Athena read.

"Does anyone know what that means" Jason asked

"No but it's definitely bad if it has the word death in it" Poseidon stated looking down at his son, who was staring over his shoulder at their actual thrones in wonder, worriedly.

**I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly. This twenty-four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle. **

"My gods that must have been a nightmare" Hestia stated pitying the young boy in the book "he must have felt so alone."

**For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me. The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr—a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip—had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas.**

Hermes smiled "that would definitely be a fun prank" the other gods eyed him warily and Apollo fist bumped him

**Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodd's reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho.**

"That's nothing new everyone stares at him like he's psycho" Nico stated Hazel laughed

"I haven't known him very long but he does give off that vibe"

**It got so I almost believed them—Mrs. Dodds had never existed.**

"He said almost" Thalia stated and her and nico looked at each other and said in unison "Grover"

**Almost. But Grover couldn't fool me.**

Thalia and nico fist bumped

**When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, and then claim she didn't exist. But I knew he was lying.**

Hermes took out a small black book and wrote something down quickly trying to hide it from Dionysus but unfortunately for him Percy saw him "what are you writing in that book Hermes? and why are you doing it secretly?" Hermes straightened up and shoved the book in his pocket and smiled at a glaring Dionysus "nothing dear cousin. nothing at all"

"Busted by a kid Hermes that has to suck" Apollo said to Hermes. Hermes just stuck out his tongue at the other god

**Something was going on. Something ****_had _****happened at the museum.**

"No really" Jason stated

"Jason stop acting like that it isn't his fault he doesn't know anything"

"Hey I know things" said Percy "my mommy says that I'm smart" Percy said looking proud.

Ares snorted "mamma's boy" he said quietly but Poseidon heard him and drenched him with water Percy laughed at Ares as he sputtered and glared

**I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.**

Hestia looked at the book sadly feeling pity for the boy nightmares were a hard thing to have to deal with

**The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room. **

Poseidon glared at Zeus who raised up his hands in a calming motion and said "hey I haven't done this yet so don't look at me" Poseidon sighed

**A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy. One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.**

"Something big must have happened for you two to be fighting like this" said Athena trying and failing to figure anything out she needed more information

**I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. My grades slipped from Ds to Fs.**

"Perseus" Athena said scolding causing Percy to shift in his seat and the old Perseus to sit up straighter much to the chagrin of his brother and cousins "you should concentrate on your studies and work hard to get good grades" Percy nodded before he looked at his dad "daddy can I get down" Poseidon looked at Percy and nodded taking the boy off his lap and setting him on the ground "don't leave this room alright Percy" Percy nodded and skipped away toward the big chairs behind the gods

**I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends. I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class.**

Athena sighed she would have to teach Percy how to be a proper student while he was here

Artemis on the other hand was shaking her head she had had high hopes for Percy because thalia seemed to respect him so but he seemed like any other male shed met always getting into trouble and starting fights she looked over at little Percy who was looking at Athena's throne and couldn't help a smile as she watched him study it he was quite a cute male at least for right now perhaps shed give him more of a chance and with that she started to pay attention to the reading

**Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him an old sot. **

The future and past heroes burst into laughter as well as a few of the gods Poseidon Hermes and Apollo the others just smiled amused

**I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.**

"It means old drunk" Athena stated

"Yeah we know"

"It was for those who didn't know kelp head"

**The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.**

"Dang! and I thought Percy was exaggerating when he said he'd been kicked out of 8 schools in 10 years"

"What?" Athena asked looking at nico shocked maybe teaching Percy would be harder than she thought

**Fine, I told myself. Just fine.**

**I was homesick.**

Ares rolled his eyes "what a baby" and was again showered with cold water

**I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.**

"Umm I'm pretty sure Paul doesn't gamble and isn't obnoxious" nico stated looking confused

"It's not Paul he was talking about it's his old stepdad before Paul"

"How come Percy didn't tell me he had another stepdad" nico asked sadly weren't they brothers why had he told Thalia and not him

"To be fair Percy didn't tell me either. Grover let it slip one day that Percy had a really awful step dad before Paul but that's all he would say on the matter" thalia said she was looking forward to seeing exactly who this horrible person was nico sighed at least he hadn't told thalia either it made him feel less left out

**And yet... there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view** **of the woods outside my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees. I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend,**

"Percy is definitely a different hero" Hestia stated smiling at the little boy who was now approaching zues's throne

"Ya Percy is a great friend" Thalia said hazel and nico nodded and Jason just looked away still believing that there had to be something wrong with this Percy dude

**even if he was a little strange.**

Thalia snorted "if Grover could here this now" nico laughed thalia joined in the laughter both of them imagining the satyrs face

**I worried how he'd survive next year without me.**

"Such a kind boy" Hera stated having forgotten about being angry with Percy it was so hard to stay mad when he was so sweet

**I'd miss Latin class, too—Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well.**

"Ya that is pretty refreshing"

"What do you mean" Athena asked

"Well most teachers when they see that we are both dyslexic and have ADHD automatically think were a lost cause and won't make it far so it's hard for us to care when they so obviously don't but with Chiron he always had faith in us and it was a nice change"

Athena looked surprised at this announcement looks like shell have to pay some teachers a visit

**As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for.**

Athena sighed "really boy I know it must be hard with this idiot for a father but you could at least try"

"Excuse me who are you calling an idiot?! Your the one talking to a book" Poseidon stated Athena blushed a bit and continued to read

**I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-and-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.**

Just then there was a cry from behind them Poseidon jumped from his throne and turned shocked as he caught sight of his son sprawled across the floor

"What happened to him" Hercules asked but before Poseidon even took a step forward Percy was climbing to his feet his appearance was hilarious his black hair stood on end and looked a bit singed.

Zeus chuckled "he must have touched my throne"

"Don't laugh" Hera scolded "he could have been hurt don't worry nothing that could kill any of us would have affect here remember? he just got a good shock"

Percy stood there for a moment a look of shock on his face then he broke into a grin and started laughing "that was fun" he said loudly and reached forward touching it again and being blasted back again by electricity which made the boy laugh harder which in turn made all the gods and heroes laugh as well "Let's not do that anymore ok Percy" Poseidon walked forward and just as the boy was about to run forward and do it again Poseidon caught him in his arms and carried him back toward the reading area "no" Percy cried out "no"

"Percy stop now" Poseidon commanded but Percy being the little boy he was shook his head "no! I wanna play some more! put me down!" and Percy kicked and struggled and Poseidon tried to get him to stop but he was out of his depth after all he'd never raised a kid accept for triton of course but that was centuries ago fortunately for him Hestia walked up and took on the age of the average mother and held out her arms for Percy Poseidon gladly handed him over he trusted Hestia more than anyone Hestia took the still struggling Percy and sat him down on the heroes of olds couch between Orion and Hercules and said "now Percy you should listen to your father he's just trying to protect you and so for punishment you will sit here ok" Percy looked abashed and he had small tears in his eyes and was pouting but Hestia didn't waiver and so Percy looked down at his shoes and nodded Hestia nodded and went to sit back down Poseidon smiled at Hestia and sent her a silent than you she just nodded her head at him everyone got back to being situated well almost everyone both Orion and Hercules were at a loss as to what to do between them was a pouting little kid so they squished themselves against the sides of the couch and as far away from the kid as possible

"Man I feel for sally Perce must be a handful" nico said although he couldn't help smiling little Percy shocking himself had just been too funny and he wasn't the only one smiling quite a few gods still supported amused looks as well.

**The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw the ****_Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology _****across my dorm room. **

Athena wanted to scold Percy but he was still pouting and crying arms crossed so she decided to give him a break for now

**Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards. There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon,**

"I really hope he means spelling wise because they are two totally different beings" nico said

**or Polydictes and Polydeuces. And conjugating those Latin verbs? Forget it.**

"It's not that hard" hazel and Jason stated

"Well yeah you romans are hardwired for Latin we're Greek and we do better with ancient Greek" thalia explained they both nodded taking in the info thalia gave

**I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.**

"I can't help but wonder how he knows how that feels" nico said aloud thalia snorted as she imagined little Percy doing something stupid with ants

**I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes. ****_I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson._**

**I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book.**

"Good" said Athena approvingly "at least he's trying now"

**I'd never asked a teacher for help before. Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried.**

"Aww that's so cute" Aphrodite squealed "he's trying so hard for his teacher such a sweet heart I hope my daughters get the chance to break the heart of a boy like him" she said smiling

**I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.**

**I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said,**

**_"..._** **worried about Percy, sir."**

**I froze.**

**I'm not usually an eavesdropper,**

Thalia snorted "yeah right he eavesdrops all the time"

**but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.**

"He does have a point there though" said nico thalia had to agree she would probably do the same thing

**I inched closer.**

**"... alone this summer," Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the ****_school_****! Now that we know for sure, and ****_they _****know too—"**

**"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."**

"Were still waiting for that to happen" thalia said and nico laughed along with thalia

**"But he may not have time. The summer solstice dead line— ****_"_**

**"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."**

**"Sir, he ****_saw _****her... ."**

**"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."**

"It's not the mist that needs to convince him it's that satyr" said Theseus he looked behind him and saw Percy had stopped crying now and his eyes were a bit droopy most likely from all the energy he'd wasted crying this boy certainly was an odd one that's for sure he thought

**"Sir, I ... I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."**

"I'm am so glad he's over that now"

"Over what? What happened how did he fail?"

Thalia grimaced "you'll see" she said not wanting to talk about her time as a tree after all it had been a rather traumatic event

**"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall—"**

"Well that's not going to help his nightmares at all" stated Hestia worriedly Poseidon frowned at those words

**The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.**

"no no no" Hermes said frantically before he turned to the future heroes "you never give away your position"

"Hermes quit giving lessons they don't need to know how to spy on people" Hera scolded Hermes huffed and then mouthed later at the futures letting them know that he still planned to teach them

**Mr. Brunner went silent.**

**My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.**

Hermes sighed "at least he made sure to leave no evidence there is hope for him yet" Hera rolled her eyes at her stepson so dramatic like his father

**A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.**

"Why is he in his true form at a mortal school what if someone saw him ill have to talk to him about the secrecy of our world" all the other gods winced and felt sorry for the old centaur

**I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.**

**A few seconds later I heard a slow ****_clop-clop-clop, _****like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, and then moved on.**

"That was a close one I wonder what would've happened had he been found" hazel wondered out loud

"We'll never know" Nico answered

**A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.**

**Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."**

"Hmm" Athena thought still trying to figure out what could have happened she hated not knowing it was driving her insane

**"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn ..."**

**"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."**

"That has to suck taking exams over and over again I'd die" nico said the others agreed tests no matter what form they were in always sucked

**"Don't remind me."**

**The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office.**

**I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.**

**Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.**

**Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.**

**"Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"**

** I didn't answer.**

**"You look awful." He frowned. "Is everything okay?"**

**"Just... tired."**

**I turned so he couldn't read my expression, and started getting ready for bed.**

"That won't work Grover could read your emotions" Athena stated

"He doesn't know that Athena and you're talking to a book again"

"Oh shut up fish face"

**I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing.**

**But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They thought I was in some kind of danger.**

"When are you not in danger" thalia commented sending Poseidon into a worried frenzy. Was his son really in that much danger and why was it his son. It was odd Poseidon had a lot of sons but there was something about Percy that Poseidon felt closer to him then some of his other children it was what he felt with Theseus and Orion who were also in the room was that a coincidence? His head started to hurt from all the thinking so he stopped. he'd try to figure it out when he knew more.

**The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam,**

Nico gaped "a three hour Latin exam! what the hell Chiron! why three hours is he trying to kill Percy?"

"It's just an exam no need to be so dramatic" Athena said shaking her head at nico

"Just a test my *^#" nico said under his breath "it's insane"

**my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.**

**For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.**

**"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's ... it's for the best."**

"Oh great" thalia sighed "now Percy's going to get the wrong idea"

**His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.**

Thalia growled "that's it when we leave here I'm going to track down this bobofit girl and punch her" nico scooted away from thalia who was giving off an aura of hate

**I mumbled, "Okay, sir."**

**"I mean ..." Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time."**

"Oh dear Chiron is very bad at this isn't he" Hestia stated wincing a bit at what Chiron had said.

**My eyes stung.**

"What a baby" Jason murmured to himself "I mean it was just a teacher big deal"

**Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.**

**"Right," I said, trembling.**

**"No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say ... you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be—"**

**"Thanks," I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me."**

"Oh Percy it isn't what he meant" Hestia said Apollo wanted to tell her she was talking to a book but he respected her far too much to make fun

**"Percy—"**

**But I was already gone.**

**On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.**

**The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were ****_rich _****juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities. I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies.**

"I wouldn't say that" Poseidon said smiling he looked over to Percy and started chuckling the others looked over to and smiled or laughed Percy had long since fallen asleep his small body slumped sideways so he was lying on Orion's lap the funny thing was Orion he didn't seem to know how to react his whole body was stiff like he was trying not to move and you could tell that he didn't know what to do with himself as the little boy slept on him the other heroes of old looked beyond amused at his predicament he just scowled at everyone and Athena started to read again

**They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city.**

**What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.**

**"Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool."**

**They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed.**

"Men are all jerks" artemis stated matter a factly there were heys and that's not true from the other gods

and Aphrodite rolled her eyes and said sweetly "you wouldn't think that way if you got laid" artemis glared at her so strongly that Aphrodite decided to hide behind Ares for protection Ares smiled smugly at Hephaestus who ignored him Athena quickly calmed artemis down and started to read again

**The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had,**

"Stalker" nico stated smiling

"Grover is a stalker do you remember how he used to be with the hunters"

"Used to be he still is just less so because of juniper"

"What did he do to my hunters" artemis asked still angry with Aphrodite

"Umm you'll see" thalia said a bit frightened by artemises glare

**so there we were, together again, heading into the city.**

**During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen.**

**Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.**

**Finally I couldn't stand it anymore.**

**I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"**

"Nice" Apollo said "that should scare the goat right out of him"

Hermes shook his head at Apollo "really scare the goat out of him"

Apollo just shrugged "I could have said sh…"

"Language apollo there are children" around Hera scolded

Apollo looked at Hermes as if to say 'see this is why I didn't say it'

**Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha—what do you mean?"**

**I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.**

**Grover's eye twitched. "How much ****_did _****you hear?"**

**"Oh ... not much. What's the summer solstice dead-line?"**

"Not much just everything" Perseus laughed

**He winced. "Look, Percy ... I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers …"**

"Grover is a really really bad liar" thalia stated fondly

**"Grover—"**

**"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and ..."**

**"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar."**

"No thalia you think like Percy don't go over to the dark side don't leave me" nico stated falling onto his knees in front of thalia who just rolled her eyes

"Nico I don't think of you as the light side" she said and nico pouted

**His ears turned pink.**

**From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer.**

**The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes, but I finally made out something like:**

"Seriously Mr. d why do you have to write it fancy script Mr. D smirked it funny to watch you struggle" thalia rolled her eyes "why did I even ask"

**_Grover Underwood_**

**_Keeper_**

**_Half-Blood Hill_**

**_Long Island, New York_**

**_(800)_** **_009-0009_**

**"What's Half—"**

**"Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. "That's my, um ... summer address."**

**My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.**

**"Okay," I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."**

**He nodded. "Or...or if you need me."**

**"Why would I need you?"**

"Ooh that was cruel"

"I'm sure he didn't mean it like that" Hestia said softly

**It came out harsher than I meant it to.**

"See" she stated happily glad that she was right about the boy

**Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I—I kind of have to protect you."**

**I stared at him.**

**All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me.**

"Aww that's so nice"

"If Grover ate more cereal he wouldn't have that problem" all the gods rolled their eyes at her

**And here he was acting like he was the one who defended ****_me._**

**"Grover," I said, "What exactly are you protecting me from?"**

"All the blood thirsty monster and pissed off gods that want to kill you" nico stated making Poseidon glance at his son in worry then he smiled it seemed that while they were reading Orion had stopped being so awkward and now looked rather comfortable with Percy snuggled up to him his arm rested around the little boy protectively and he smiled Orion an awful ending it had taken him many centuries to forgive Apollo and seeing him again was hard he wanted so badly to warn Orion and he was sure artemis was feeling the same way his poor niece she had been ignoring the heroes but he knew it was only a matter of time before they would have to confront one another and he would be there for his son and for his niece if something went wrong.

**There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs.**

"EEEWWWW" Aphrodite squealed wrinkling her noise

**The driver cursed and steered the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.**

**After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else.**

**We were on a stretch of country road—no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.**

"I'm sorry" what questioned Hercules

**The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of blood red cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice****_. _****There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.**

Everyone gaped turning to stare at the sleeping boy Orion was staring down at the young boy in shock yes he was still uncertain about the boy but to see the fates at such a young age was sad thalia and nico were having mini heart attacks they knew Percy was alive but then what had happened Poseidon was hyperventilating as he stared at his son it couldn't be why would they read this if he had died so early it didn't make sense

**I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.**

the tension in the air was thick as the gods looked at the boy in pity and thalia and nico were trying to figure this out

**All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.**

**The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.**

Poseidon's knuckles turned white as he gripped the arms of his throne thalia noticed and walked up to him and whispered to him he calmed visibly sighing in relief to know that his son was still alive in the future

**I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching.**

**"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man—"**

**"Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"**

**"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"**

"Not funny Perce not funny at all" nico said looking worried

**"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."**

No one commented about nico thinking like Grover

**The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors—gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.**

**"We're getting on the bus," he told me. "Come on."**

**"What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there."**

"Please listen to him son"

"It wouldn't matter" hades said "he has to see this"

**"Come on!'" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back.**

**Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that ****_snip _****across four lanes of traffic.**

Everyone took a deep breath "poor boy" Demeter stated

"He's not dead yet" thalia stated angrily Demeter just sent her a pitying look and thalia glared back Percy wasn't dead she thought to herself hazel had proved it when she had talked about Percy

**Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for—Sasquatch or Godzilla.**

There were a few week chuckles from Apollo but you could tell he wasn't into it

**At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.**

**The passengers cheered.**

"See" hades stated "he had to see it"

**"Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"**

**Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu.**

Poseidon frowned trying to remember that Percy was still alive

**Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering.**

**"Grover?"**

**"Yeah?"**

**"What are you not telling me?"**

"Everything" Hermes stated

**He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"**

**"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like ... Mrs. Dodds, are they?"**

"No they are much much worse" hades said feeling sorry for the boy after all he wasn't heartless

**His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds. He said, "Just tell me what you saw."**

**"The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn."**

**He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost—older.**

_ "_Very observant" Athena stated trying to ignore the tension in the air

**He said, "You saw her snip the cord."**

**"Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal.**

**"This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time."**

**"What last time?"**

"Ya what Grover said what happened last time" Jason asked

"You'll find out ok" thalia snapped "Jason lifted up his hands in surrender "sorry just asking"

**"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth."**

"Yes that will make him feel safe" Hercules stated sarcastically

**"Grover," I said, because he was really starting to scare me. "What are you talking about?"**

**"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."**

"Two drachmas says hell break that promise" Jason said nico smirked

"two drachmas he doesn't Percy wouldn't break a promise"

**This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.**

**"Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked.**

**No answer.**

**"Grover—that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"**

"Who's going to die" came a small voice still heavy form sleep everyone looked over to see Percy yawning and rubbing his eyes as he woke up from his nap

No one answered him not sure what to say

"It's nothing for you to worry about k Perce" thalia said softly Percy nodded at her

**He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin**

Percy yawned when Athena read that and missed the line much to thalias relief Athena closed the book "that's the end of that chapter" she held up the book and Hestia held out her hand for it Athena passed it to her.

AN: ok that's chapter two in chapter three I plan to make things a bit more dramatic for little percy there will be slight mentions of abuse just because I don't believe that gabe would only hit sally I'm pretty sure he beat up on percy as well so if anyone has anything they'd like to see or ideas I'd be happy to listen again the heroes of old will talk more once percy gets to camp. Please review


	4. Chapter 4

AN: ya I finally updated sorry for the wait it's my first year in college I've only been here for two weeks and I've already got a cold. :( anyway thaks to all my wonderfull reviewrs. ok here are the things I will do and the things I won't do sorry to those who dont like feel free to flame me it wont change anything but flames do tend to entertain me.

I will bring in modern Percy but it will be a while because I don't want to bring him in until after I've read mark of Athena in October so after it comes out is around the time that modern Percy will show up.

I will bring in Zoë but not until the third book

I will NOT be bringing in annabeth because I want this story to be more of a family bonding story rather than a romance story yes Percy is still with annabeth and yes she will be mentioned but she won't be brought in sorry if that annoys some of you

As for frank Leo and piper I may bring them or I may not it just depends on where I take this story

Also Aphrodite will be staying with Ares because although Ares is a douche you can tell he cares about Aphrodite

And on the subject of Jason I am open to suggestions do you think he should be outright mean to little Percy or do you think he should keep his jealousy to a minimum

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing

Now on with the story

"**Grover Unexpectedly Loses his Pants," **Hestia Read.

"Oolala! What are Percy and Grover doing?" Aphrodite said giggling.

Everyone in the room stared at her, some turning green at the mental image. Poseidon splashed her with water causing her to scream and get to work on her now ruined hair and makeup. 

**Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal.**

"Ha-ha pay up," Jason stated smirking. Nico looked shocked why would Percy do that? the Percy he knew would never break a promise, meanwhile Jason was smiling happily looks like Percy's not as perfect as everyone thinks he is.

**I know, I know. It was rude.**

"Well at least he knows it was rude" Hestia stated.

** But Grover was freaking me out, looking at me like I was a dead man, muttering "Why does this always happen?" and "Why does it always have to be sixth grade?"**

"Ok that is a little creepy," thalia stated "I might have ditched Grover too if he had been saying that around me."

"Yeah! and it doesn't help that he's already heard them talking about how he's going to die!" nico stated triumphantly knowing Percy must have had a reason for ditching Grover. Jason just rolled his eyes.

**Whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder acted up, so I wasn't surprised when, as soon as we got off the bus, he made me promise to wait for him, then made a beeline for the restroom.**

Thalia shook her head fondly thinking about Grover and his odd habits, "how much he has changed" she said aloud.

"Yeah it's like he's a whole new satyr" nico responded.

**Instead of waiting, I got my suitcase, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown.**

**"East One-hundred-and-fourth and First," I told the driver.**

**A word about my mother, before you meet her.**

"Mommy's the bestest ever! I love her so much!" little Percy stated proudly making the goddesses smile fondly at the boy(except artemis who had some conflicting emotions).

"She's amazing" nico stated smiling.

"The best mom ever" thalia said agreeing with nico. Poseidon smiled leaning forward to see who he was with in the future. Jason was frowning trying to remember his own mom but he couldn't recall much of anything.

**Her name is Sally Jackson and she's the best person in the world,**

"Told you so" Percy stated smiling at all the gods.

"It's nice that he really cares about his mother" Hera stated smiling. Hephaestus rolled his eyes and Ares ignored her Hera let out a huff.

Artemis was conflicted she wasn't quite sure how to feel about this Percy person, one part of her was being drawn to the boy and another part kept screaming that he was a man and didn't deserve her respect, so she pushed it out of her mind. For now she would reserve judgment until later.

** which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck.**

Both thalia and nico stared at each other confused sally seemed to have pretty good luck when they met her.

**Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five,**

Many glares were directed at Zeus who shifted uncomfortably in his throne.

** and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.**

Athena smiled "well she seems like a very smart woman. I shall bless her and hopefully it will help a bit"

**The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad.**

Athena's smile turned into a frown "how she ended up with kelp head over there is anyone's guess. such a smart women and such an idiot man." Poseidon glared at Athena and sent a cold wave of water over her Athena glared back and attacked Poseidon with a flock of owls.

"ENOUGH!" Zeus roared. Stopping Poseidon from counter attacking both gods gave one last glare before they turned their attention back to Hestia.

**I don't have any memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile.**

"Of course I would visit you son" Poseidon stated smiling. Thalia, nico, and Jason felt a bit jealous at Percy, although it was short lived for thalia and nico. the heroes of old smiled after all their fathers had visited them often enough considering the circumstances. Percy smiled up at his father.

** My mom doesn't like to talk about him because ****_it _****makes her sad. She has no pictures.**

**See, they weren't married. She told me he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back.**

Percy's smile faded a bit, his father had told him it had been for a good reason but he still felt a bit upset after all he was now left with smelly Gabe, Percy shivered at the thought of him. Orion frowned as he felt Percy shiver it didn't feel particularly cold in the room, he watched Percy for a minute and when he didn't shiver again Orion let it go as a slight chill.

**Lost at sea, my mom told me. Not dead. Lost at sea.**

"She's good," Hermes stated "she lied but still told the truth all at the same time. nice pick uncle p," Poseidon smiled rolling his eyes at Hermes's childishness.

**She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma,**

Athena smiled at this proud that there were some people that still craved knowledge

** and raised me on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But I knew I wasn't an easy kid.**

Nico and thalia snorted "that's the understatement of the year!" thalia said smiling Percy pouted at her comment and tried to hop off the couch to go see her but the poor boy lost his balance and fell Theseus and Perseus both reached to catch him and all three banged their heads together. laughter filled the room at the scene, Percy shook his head and leaned against his brother Theseus to rest and let his head stop spinning. both Theseus and Perseus shook it off and Theseus stared at the little boy but didn't comment or move when he leaned against him after all the boy didn't seem quite so bad. Perseus smiled at the boy as well after all he was a father too and Percy reminded him a lot of his son.

**Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano, who was nice the first thirty seconds we knew him,**

"Oh geez" Aphrodite said wrinkling her nose "a parent is just asking for their kid to be ugly and mean with a name like that."

Percy shivered again and Theseus looked down at the boy to see him curled up in a ball leaning against his side he looked up at Perseus who had noticed and Perseus shrugged. Orion had noticed as well and his eyes narrowed something was not right Percy wasn't cold he was scared, and that set Orion on edge because even though it had only been three chapters Percy had managed to wiggle himself into Orion's heart, that and Orion was a bit of a softie.

**then showed his true colors as a world-class jerk. When I was young, I nick named him Smelly Gabe. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The guy reeked like moldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts.**

"Eeewww" Aphrodite shrieked wrinkling her nose. A few of the other goddesses were a bit green silently agreeing with her, and the goods looked just as disgusted as the women.

**Between the two of us, we made my mom's life pretty hard. The way Smelly Gabe treated her, **

Thalia and nico narrowed their eyes at the book both very protective over the people they loved and sally was high on that list for both of them. she was like the mother neither of them had and if this guy hurt her then he was as good as dead.

**the way he and I got along ... well, when I came home is a good example.**

"I don't like where this is heading" Hestia whispered, although the other gods heard it and frowned. Poseidon especially that man better not have hurt sally.

**I walked into our little apartment, hoping my mom would be home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.**

everyone in the room turned a little green.

**Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, "So, you're home."**

**"Where's my mom?"**

**"Working," he said. "You got any cash?"**

"That's it no welcome home" Hera stated looking shocked that anyone could be so awful.

"After the description Percy just gave us did you really expect much." thalia stated. she ignored Hera's glare, this really hit home for her after all her mom was a horrible alcoholic, but unlike Percy she hadn't stuck around.

**That was it. No ****_Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months?_**

"See Percy thinks like me," Hera stated smiling.

nico snorted softly and whispered to thalia and hazel "that's not a good thing," hazel and thalia both shook slightly trying to hold in their laughter.

**Gabe had put on weight. He looked like a tusk less walrus in thrift-store clothes. He had about three hairs on his head, all combed over his bald scalp, as if that made him handsome or something.**

"Ew no definitely not handsome and sorry but not even I could help that gross thing look good" Aphrodite stated looking at the book as if it had a horrible disease.

**He managed the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he stayed home most of the time. I don't know why he hadn't been fired long before. He just kept on collecting paychecks, spending the money on cigars that made me nauseous, and on beer, of course. Always beer.**

Hestia glanced worriedly at Percy she knew how drunk people treated their families and based on how Percy looked right now all curled up and quiet made her feel as though she had the right idea which didn't make her feel happy at all.

** Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds. He called that our "guy secret." Meaning, if I told my mom, he would punch my lights out.**

Everyone in the room froze as Percy let out a horrible whimper of fear as Hestia read that last line. Orion and Theseus and Perseus gasped, clenching their fists in anger even Hercules looked a bit mad after all they knew the signs. Orion glared at the book imagining all the tortures he could induce on this Gabe guy, and Perseus took Percy from his place next to Theseus and brought him to his lap trying to comfort the small boy his face showed how pissed off he was. Theseus didn't object to Perseus comforting Percy considering that Perseus had a son and probably could do a better job besides that he was so angry right now.

Thalia, nico, hazel, and Jason looked extremely pissed. yeah Jason was jealous of Percy, and didn't think he was all that great but nobody deserved that. thalia was fuming if looks could kill the book would have been burned to ashes and at the same time as she was glaring she was also crying small tears escaped her eyes in her anger. Percy had never told her about this but then why would he after all Percy wasn't one who admitted to being hurt always insisting that he was fine. and yet he wasn't fine he had been abused by that thing called Gabe and when they got back to their time she was going to rip the man to shreds. nico was shaking in his seat a black aura around him as he thought of what his big brother must have went through to be so traumatized at five years old was disgusting how could this guy… no this monster do such a thing. hazel was crying angry tears much like thalia she hadn't known Percy for long but she still considered them friends and it hurt her to know that he had been so hurt.

The gods and goddesses all had about the same reaction. the goddesses looked downright scary with their tears and their glares. yes they knew that it happened but to really see it up close as they watched little Percy shake as Perseus tried to comfort the poor boy just brought everything closer to home, and artemis was shaking as she thought about this horrible thing it didn't even deserve to be classified as a man because men were held in higher standard to her than this filth which really said something about how mad she was.

and the gods were just pissed. no man should hit their child Ares thought it was cowardly, and Zeus and hades couldn't imagine why someone would hit their child after all they were parents and although they were strict and easily angered they knew their limits. and Poseidon well Poseidon was more than pissed this Gabe guy was dead he was going to make sure that Gabe suffered a terribly painful death. as Poseidon seethed the world below was in torment as earthquakes rocked the world and hurricane season began early. Hestia laid a hand on Poseidon and he was shaken from his thoughts, looking down at her soft eyes he calmed enough to stop the disasters occurring on earth Hestia nodded her head toward the heroes of Old's couch and Poseidon looked over and nearly cried when he caught sight of his son. Percy was shivering as Perseus tried to get him to calm down, but Percy was lost in his thoughts after being away from Gabe for a while it was hard to hear about and when Hestia had said the word punch he was lost in horrible memories of Gabe hurting him. Poseidon stood quickly and walked to Perseus he held out his hands and Perseus nodded and held out the small boy letting Poseidon take him. Percy flinched when Poseidon touched him which made Poseidon's heart break. he cradled his son to his chest and when he passed hades he said "I want you to make a special punishment just for him." and hades nodded already smiling evilly and Poseidon made his way to the throne and sat Percy was full out crying now and Poseidon shushed him softly and stroked his sons black hair so much like his own. Percy finally looked up at Poseidon and Poseidon smiled then frowned "Percy can you tell me did Gabe hit you a lot" Percy ducked his head. "Percy" Poseidon prodded softly Percy looked up "promise you won't tell mommy" Poseidon looked torn then nodded after all he wouldn't tell sally, his future self would. "yes he did" Percy whispered into Poseidon's chest but everyone heard.

thalia growled. "why don't you want your mom to know," nico asked confused? if sally knew then she would leave Gabe.

Percy looked at nico and sniffled "because he said he would hurt mommy if I told and mommy doesn't deserve that" this answer broke thalias heart, Percy really did love his mother and it hurt her to know that even at five he tried his best to protect her even though thalia knew that if Gabe was this bad to Percy he would have already hurt sally no matter what Percy did.

"don't worry he will have a very special place in the fields of punishment" hades stated sadistically and that made everyone smile except Percy who didn't know what that meant but Percy began to calm down because he felt safe wrapped in his daddy's arms and so the reading continued.

**"I don't have any cash," I told him.**

**He raised a greasy eyebrow.**

**Gabe could sniff out money like a bloodhound, which was surprising, since his own smell should've covered up everything else.**

Athena gasped no way! she wouldn't have… no she needed more proof, but if sally had done that then she truly was a special woman.

**"You took a taxi from the bus station," he said. "Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?"**

"Disgusting pig" Aphrodite stated.

"Don't insult the pigs" artemis said glaring at the book.

"You're right sorry" Aphrodite agreed. everyone was still angry and didn't notice the two goddesses actually agree on something.

**Eddie, the super of the apartment building, looked at me with a twinge of sympathy. "Come on, Gabe," he said. "The kid just got here."**

"well at least someone's human"

**"Am I ****_right_****?****_" _****Gabe repeated.**

**Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. The other two guys passed gas in harmony.**

"I stand corrected" Hera stated turning even greener. artemis just scowled these men were horrid and it just strengthened her hate against them.

**"Fine," I said. I dug a wad of dollars out of my pocket and threw the money on the table. "I hope you lose."**

"Don't worry he will" Dionysus said smiling.

**"Your report card came, brain boy!" he shouted after me. "I wouldn't act so snooty!"**

"Please his grades were probably all f's when he was in school." Athena stated.

**I slammed the door to my room, which really wasn't my room. During school months, it was Gabe's "study." He didn't study anything in there except old car magazines, but he loved shoving my stuff in the closet, leaving his muddy boots on my windowsill, and doing his best to make the place smell like his nasty cologne and cigars and stale beer.**

Aphrodite was incredibly green at this point and Ares lent over and stroked her back(what he knows how to keep a woman and he does care for Aphrodite) she smiled at him.

**I dropped my suitcase on the bed. Home sweet home.**

"Ahh you gotta love sarcasm" nico said smiling at Percy's sarcasm and trying not to think of Gabe for now as there was nothing he could do.

**Gabe's smell was almost worse than the nightmares about Mrs. Dodds,**

**or the sound of that old fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn.**

Athena frowned thinking of her earlier theory and how this was proving it.

**But as soon as I thought that, my legs felt weak.**

**I remembered Grover's look of panic—how he'd made me promise I wouldn't go home without him. A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone—something—was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons.**

Everyone tensed all thinking please not another monster.

**Then I heard my mom's voice. "Percy?"**

And the tension vanished and sighs of relief were heard.

**She opened the bedroom door, and my fears melted.**

**My mother can make me feel good just by walking into the room.**

"Aww" the goddesses cooed it was just too cute how much Percy loved sally.

**Her eyes sparkle and change color in the light. Her smile is as warm as a quilt. She's got a few gray streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but I never think of her as old. When she looks at me, it's like she's seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad.**

"What a mother" Ares whispered wishing Hera was like that. Hephaestus was thinking the same thing two thrones away.

**I've never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even me or Gabe.**

"Not even about Gabe holy crap that women has patience!" hazel said looking shocked.

**"Oh, Percy." She hugged me tight. "I can't believe it. You've grown since Christmas!"**

**Her red-white-and-blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like the best things in the world: chocolate, licorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central. She'd brought me a huge bag of "free samples," the way she always did when I came home.**

"Awesome" Apollo said his mouth watering as he thought of candy.

**We sat together on the edge of the bed. While I attacked the blueberry sour strings, she ran her hand through my hair and demanded to know everything I hadn't put in my letters. She didn't mention anything about my getting expelled. She didn't seem to care about that. But was I okay? Was her little boy doing all right?**

Jason's jealousy made him scowl a bit, after all Jason never had a family and here Percy was with an amazing mother and a father that really cared. why did Percy get everything, heck he even had his older sister.

**I told her she was smothering me, and to lay off and all that, but secretly, I was really, really glad to see her.**

Men artemis thought shaking her head.

**From the other room, Gabe yelled, "Hey, Sally—how about some bean dip, huh?"**

**I gritted my teeth.**

Everyone else in the room did the same thing. Percy snuggled closer to Poseidon and growled at the book.

**My mom is the nicest lady in the world. She should've been married to a millionaire, not to some jerk like Gabe.**

"Or a god" Hermes suggested.

**For her sake, I tried to sound upbeat about my last days at Yancy Academy. I told her I wasn't too down about the expulsion. I'd lasted almost the whole year this time. I'd made some new friends. I'd done pretty well in Latin. And honestly, the fights hadn't been as bad as the headmaster said. I liked Yancy Academy. I really did. I put such a good spin on the year, I almost convinced myself.**

**I started choking up, thinking about Grover and Mr. Brunner. Even Nancy Bobofit suddenly didn't seem so bad.**

"Wow he's a really accomplished liar if he could do that" Hermes said.

"Nope not even close" thalia said.

**Until that trip to the museum ...**

**"What?" my mom asked. Her eyes tugged at my conscience, trying to pull out the secrets. "Did something scare you?"**

**"No, Mom."**

"Don't lie to your mother" Hera stated.

**I felt bad lying. I wanted to tell her about Mrs. Dodds and the three old ladies with the yarn, but I thought it would sound stupid.**

"She would know" thalia said she got some confused looks "she can see through the mist" she said and the gods and heroes nodded confusion gone.

**She pursed her lips. She knew I was holding back, but she didn't push me.**

**"I have a surprise for you," she said. "We're going to the beach."**

**My eyes widened. "Montauk?"**

**"Three nights—same cabin."**

"Aww that must be where she met you Poseidon" Aphrodite said smiling happily at the thought of love.

**"When?"**

**She smiled. "As soon as I get changed."**

**I couldn't believe it. My mom and I hadn't been to Montauk the last two summers, because Gabe said there wasn't enough money.**

"Yeah because he spent it all on beer" artemis stated disgust clear in her voice.

**Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, "Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?"**

"Ugh just kill him already come on" Ares said and for once everyone agreed.

**I wanted to punch him, but I met my mom's eyes and I understood she was offering me a deal: be nice to Gabe for a little while. Just until she was ready to leave for Montauk. Then we would get out of here.**

**I was on my way, honey," she told Gabe. "We were just talking about the trip."**

**Gabe's eyes got small. "The trip? You mean you were serious about that?"**

"Nope not at all" thalia said sarcastically.

**"I knew it," I muttered. "He won't let us go."**

"He better" Poseidon growled out.

**"Of course he will," my mom said evenly. "Your step father is just worried about money. That's all. Besides," she added, "Gabriel won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works."**

"Nice use of bribery" Hermes stated appreciatively.

"She shouldn't need to use bribery" artemis snapped at Hermes who put up his hands in surrender.

**Gabe softened a bit. "So this money for your trip ... it comes out of your clothes budget, right?"**

"No way! That horrible monster." Aphrodite said scandalized at the thought.

**"Yes, honey," my mother said.**

**"And you won't take my car anywhere but there and back."**

**"We'll be very careful."**

**Gabe scratched his double chin. "Maybe if you hurry with that seven-layer dip ... And maybe if the kid apologizes for interrupting my poker game."**

"Interrupting it? Percy funded his stupid poker game!" hazel said seething.

**Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot, I thought. And make you sing soprano for a week.**

"Do it! Do it! Do it!" thalia, hazel, and nico chanted.

**But my mom's eyes warned me not to make him mad.**

**Why did she put up with this guy? I wanted to scream. Why did she care what he thought?**

"He has a point. Why marry such a horrible person, and why stick with him if he's so awful there must be a reason, like Athena said she is a smart woman" Persephone asked? no one could answer her and Athena was frowning she had a theory but she didn't want to share it just yet.

**"I'm sorry," I muttered. "I'm really sorry I interrupted your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now."**

**Gabe's eyes narrowed. His tiny brain was probably trying to detect sarcasm in my statement.**

"How could he not. Percy is the king of sarcasm, you'd have to be completely brain dead to not detect sarcasm"

"This is Gabe were talking about thals"

**"Yeah, whatever," he decided.**

"See" nico said

**He went back to his game.**

**"Thank you, Percy," my mom said. "Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk more about... whatever you've forgotten to tell me, okay?"**

"She knows something's up" Demeter said.

"Percy should just tell her. It's this kind of thing that gets demigods killed." Hera said.

Poseidon glared at Hera who shrugged "what its true"

**For a moment, I thought I saw anxiety in her eyes—the same fear I'd seen in Grover during the bus ride—as if my mom too felt an odd chill in the air.**

**But then her smile returned, and I figured I must have been mistaken. She ruffled my hair and went to make Gabe his seven-layer dip.**

**An hour later we were ready to leave.**

**Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom's bags to the car.**

"I love how it says watches not helps" thalia said glaring at the book.

** He kept griping and groaning about losing her cooking—and more important, his '78 Camaro—for the whole weekend.**

**"Not a scratch on this car, brain boy," he warned me as I loaded the last bag. "Not one little scratch."**

"Like he'd be driving he's twelve" Athena said. Hestia smiled a bit as she reads the next line.

**Like I'd be the one driving. I was twelve. **

Athena blushed.

**But that didn't matter to Gabe. If a seagull so much as pooped on his paint job, he'd find a way to blame me.**

**Watching him lumber back toward the apartment building, I got so mad I did something I can't explain. As Gabe reached the doorway, I made the hand gesture I'd seen Grover make on the bus, a sort of warding-off-evil gesture, a clawed hand over my heart, then a shoving movement toward Gabe. The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked him in the butt and sent him flying up the stair case as if he'd been shot from a cannon.**

Everyone was shocked "wow this kids got some power" Apollo states staring at five year old Percy, who seems to be in his own world playing with a stuffed hippocampus that Poseidon had made for him.

** Maybe it was just the wind, or some freak accident with the hinges, but I didn't stay long enough to find out.**

**I got in the Camaro and told my mom to step on it.**

The heroes (except Hercules and Jason) all laughed amused.

**Our rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets,**

"I guess he won't be taking annabeth there" thalia said to nico smiling.

**and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in.**

"would that even bother him seeing as how he's a son of Poseidon" Apollo asked.

**I loved the place.**

"oh, never mind."

**We'd been going there since I was a baby. My mom had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but I knew why the beach was special to her. It was the place where she'd met my dad.**

"Aww how cute" Aphrodite squealed.

**As we got closer to Montauk, she seemed to grow younger, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned the color of the sea.**

"It seems as though her life force is the sea. no wonder you were attracted to her brother" Zeus said. Poseidon smiled sally really seemed like one hell of a woman.

**We got there at sunset, opened all the cabin's windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine. We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my mom had brought from work.**

"What's with the blue food" Apollo asked confused.

**I guess I should explain the blue food.**

Hermes snorted and Apollo stuck out his tongue at him

**See, Gabe had once told my mom there was no such thing. They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, my mom went out of her way to eat blue. She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She bought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop. This—along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano—was proof that she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe. She did have a rebellious streak, like me.**

"More like a rebel with an obedience streak" thalia said fondly

"Yeah a rarely seen obedience streak" nico snorted

**When it got dark, we made a fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Mom told me stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She told me about the books she wanted to write someday, when she had enough money to quit the candy shop.**

"Yes she will definitely receive my blessing" Athena stated proudly.

**Eventually, I got up the nerve to ask about what was always on my mind whenever we came to Montauk—my father. Mom's eyes went all misty. I figured she would tell me the same things she always did, but I never got tired of hearing them.**

Poseidon smiled happy that his son wanted to know him

**"He was kind, Percy," she said. "Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes."**

Everyone looked from Percy to Poseidon "it is a bit weird I mean yeah your other kids look like you, but even their slightly different. But Percy really is like a spitting image" Hermes said. and the others agreed.

**Mom fished a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag. "I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud."**

"I am" Poseidon said happily.

**I wondered how she could say that. What was so great about me? A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years.**

"I don't care about things like that I'm so proud of you son" Percy smiled up his dad

**"How old was I?" I asked. "I mean ... when he left?"**

**She watched the flames. "He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach. This cabin."**

**"But... he knew me as a baby."**

**"No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born."**

Percy frowned "don't worry I'm sure I visited quite often" Poseidon said causing Percy to smile.

**I tried to square that with the fact that I seemed to remember ... something about my father. A warm glow. A smile.**

**I had always assumed he knew me as a baby. My mom had never said it outright, but still, I'd felt it must be true. Now, to be told that he'd never even seen me...**

**I felt angry at my father. Maybe it was stupid, but I resented him for going on that ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry my mom. He'd left us, and now we were stuck with Smelly Gabe.**

Poseidon flinched it was almost like being blamed for Percy's abuse and it cut him deep.

**"Are you going to send me away again?" I asked her. "To another boarding school?"**

**She pulled a marshmallow from the fire.**

**"I don't know, honey." Her voice was heavy. "I think ... I think we'll have to do something."**

**"Because you don't want me around?"**

Thalia gasped "Perseus (Perseus twitched) Jackson don't say that to your mother"

Percy stared at thalia "say what?" he asked.

"not you" she said smiling "your idiot future self" Percy pouted slightly confused at what thalia meant, but he shook it off and played some more with his toy.

**I regretted the words as soon as they were out.**

"You should regret it" thalia said it was an awful thing to say.

**My mom's eyes welled with tears. She took my hand, squeezed it tight. "Oh, Percy, no. I—I ****_have _****to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you away."**

**Her words reminded me of what Mr. Brunner had said—that it was best for me to leave Yancy.**

**"Because I'm not normal," I said.**

"No Percy you'll never be normal even for demigod standards"

**"You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe."**

**"Safe from what?"**

"From all the monsters wanting to brutally murder you" nico stated

**She met my eyes, and a flood of memories came back to me—all the weird, scary things that had ever happened to me, some of which I'd tried to forget.**

**During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked me on the playground. When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but no one believed me when I told them that under his broad-brimmed hat, the man only had one eye, right in the middle of his head.**

"Why is a Cyclops stalking Percy"

"Maybe Poseidon sent it to check up on him"

**Before that—a really early memory. I was in preschool, and a teacher accidentally put me down for a nap in a cot that a snake had slithered into. My mom screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strangle to death with my meaty toddler hands.**

"Like Hercules" artemis said in distaste making said hero scowl at getting compared to the tiny wimp.

**In every single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and I was forced to move.**

**I knew I should tell my mom about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds at the art museum, about my weird hallucination that I had sliced my math teacher into dust with a sword. But I couldn't make myself tell her. I had a strange feeling the news would end our trip to Montauk, and I didn't want that.**

"That's how you end up dead Pedro" Mr. D stated

**"I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could," my mom said. "They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option, Percy—the place your father wanted to send you. And I just... I just can't stand to do it."**

"And that's how they end up dead." Hera glared at her son who shrugged back at her.

**"My father wanted me to go to a special school?"**

**"Not a school," she said softly. "A summer camp."**

**My head was spinning. Why would my dad—who hadn't even stayed around long enough to see me born— talk to my mom about a summer camp? And if it was so important, why hadn't she ever mentioned it before?**

"That would be a bit confusing," nico stated.

**"I'm sorry, Percy," she said, seeing the look in my eyes. "But I can't talk about it. I—I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye to you for good."**

**"For good? But if it's only a summer camp ..."**

**She turned toward the fire, and I knew from her expression that if I asked her any more questions she would start to cry.**

"Women and their tears" Ares said shaking his head many of the gods agreed causing a few of the goddesses to glare at them.

**That night I had a vivid dream.**

Nico shivered "Percy always has the most vivid dreams, worse than any other demigod its awful"

**It was storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, were trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf.**

"Something terrible must have happened for you two to be this crazy"

**The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagles wings. As they fought, the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.**

Everyone turned to stare at hades who shrugged "this is in the future" he reminded them.

**I ran toward them, knowing I had to stop them from killing each other, but I was running in slow motion. I knew I would be too late. I saw the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horse's wide eyes, and I screamed, ****_No!_**

"Ha ha! I won! I won!" Zeus said proudly doing a little dance before settling down in his throne again. Poseidon just rolled his eyes.

Hazel and Jason stared a bit the gods were much different than they expected.

**I woke with a start.**

**Outside, it really was storming, the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses. There was no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery.**

**With the next thunderclap, my mom woke. She sat up, eyes wide, and said, "Hurricane."**

**I knew that was crazy. Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have forgotten. Over the roar of the wind, I heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made my hair stand on end.**

"That doesn't sound good" the tension in the room rose.

**Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice—someone yelling, pounding on our cabin door.**

"Grover must have finally found them"

**My mother sprang out of bed in her nightgown and threw open the lock.**

**Grover stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he wasn't... he wasn't exactly Grover.**

"What's that supposed to mean" nico asked

**"Searching all night," he gasped. "What were you thinking?"**

**My mother looked at me in terror—not scared of Grover, but of why he'd come.**

**"Percy," she said, shouting to be heard over the rain. "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"**

**I was frozen, looking at Grover. I couldn't understand what I was seeing.**

**_"O Zeu kai alloi theoi!" _****he yelled. "It's right behind me! Didn't you ****_tell _****her?"**

"What did that mean" hazel asked.

"Oh Zeus and all the gods" thalia answered

**I was too shocked to register that he'd just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I'd understood him perfectly. I was too shocked to wonder how Grover had gotten here by himself in the middle of the night. Because Grover didn't have his pants on—**

"Oh my gosh how could Grover forget his pants like that!" nico said. Thalia slapped him upside the head and nico stuck his tongue out at her.

"Shut up nico you weirdo"

**and where his legs should be ... where his legs should be ...**

**My mom looked at me sternly and talked in a tone she'd never used before: ****_"Percy. _****Tell me ****_now_****!"**

**I stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds, and my mom stared at me, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning.**

"That must have given her quite a shock poor dear" Hestia said sadly. She had a feeling something bad was going to happen.

**She grabbed her purse, tossed me my rain jacket, and said, "Get to the car. Both of you. ****_Go_****!****_"_**

**Grover ran for the Camaro—but he wasn't running, exactly. He was trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters, and suddenly his story about a muscular disorder in his legs made sense to me. I understood how he could run so fast and still limp when he walked.**

"What! Get on with it already"

**Because where his feet should be, there were no feet. There were cloven hooves.**

"Finally"

"And that's the end of the chapter" Hestia said closing the book.

"I'll read next," Poseidon said wanting to know what would happen to his son.

AN: that's it for this chapter I hope you all enjoyed please review I'm always open for suggestions.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: sorry this is a bit late I've been busy it's my first semester in college and I've been going to parties and having a good time but I finally had the time to do this chapter hope you enjoy it. And thanks to all you wonderful reviewers you're a great help in motivating me into writing this!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything it all belongs to rick riordan…

Since Poseidon was reading this chapter Percy decided to move and was now currently sitting on thalias lap.

"**My Mother Teaches me Bullfighting," **Poseidon read.

"That doesn't sound too good" Hestia stated worriedly.

**We tore through the night along dark country roads. Wind slammed against the Camaro. Rain lashed the wind shield. I didn't know how my mom could see anything, but she kept her foot on the gas.**

"Now that is how you're supposed to drive," Ares said smiling like a mad man. Hephaestus rolled his eyes at Ares before going back to his tinkering.

**Every time there was a flash of lightning, I looked at Grover sitting next to me in the backseat and I wondered if I'd gone insane, or if he was wearing some kind of shag-carpet pants.**

Eeww! Aphrodite squealed making everyone wince, "shag carpet pants that's so gross and definitely not in style." Aphrodite stated wrinkling her nose.

**But, no, the smell was one I remembered from kindergarten field trips to the petting zoo— lanolin, like from wool. The smell of a wet barnyard animal.**

"Eeww!" Aphrodite squealed again making all the gods wince and glare in her general direction Poseidon smiled at her "Dite( AN: I didn't know a better nickname if you've got one review and tell me and ill change this.) Dear, let's lower the decibels a bit ok" Aphrodite blushed a bit and nodded as she noticed all the other gods agreeing with Poseidon.

**All I could think to say was, "So, you and my mom... know each other?"**

Thalia snorted and ruffled little Percy's hair as she shook her head fondly, only Percy would ask a question like that.

**Graver's eyes flitted to the rearview mirror, though there were no cars behind us. "Not exactly," he said. "I mean, we've never met in person. But she knew I was watching you."**

"Stalker" Apollo coughed.

**"Watching me?"**

"Stalker" Apollo coughed again.

**"Keeping tabs on you.**

"Stalker" Apollo coughed.

"Yes we got it Apollo now shut up!" Artemis said annoyed. Apollo just smirked; he loved to annoy his older sister. Yes he knew she was older after all he's not dumb, he just saw himself as an older brother rather than a younger. Plus it annoyed her. 

**Making sure you were okay. But I wasn't faking being your friend," he added hastily. "I ****_am _****your friend."**

**"Urn ... what ****_are _****you, exactly?"**

**"That doesn't matter right now."**

"Que Percy saying something stupid," nico stated smiling. Percy turned to him and stuck out his tongue.

**"It doesn't matter? From the waist down, my best friend is a donkey—"**

"See told you" nico said.

Thalia was snickering "donkey seriously Percy"

**Grover let out a sharp, throaty ****_"Blaa-ha-ha!"_**

**I'd heard him make that sound before, but I'd always assumed it was a nervous laugh. Now I realized it was more of an irritated bleat.**

**"Goat!" he cried.**

**"What?"**

**"I'm a ****_goat _****from the waist down."**

"He just said it didn't matter," Jason stated.

**"You just said it didn't matter."**

"You think like me" Percy said smiling at Jason, who rolled his eyes annoyed at thinking like that idiot. Thalia noticed this and frowned she might need to have a talk with Jason. She'd watch him more closely and see.

**_"Blaa-ha-ha!_** **There are satyrs who would trample you underhoof for such an insult!"**

Mr. D smiled "yes do that. It's fun to watch.

**"Whoa. Wait. Satyrs. You mean like ... Mr. Brunner's myths?"**

"And here comes slow Percy"

"What?" asked Perseus confused?

"Slow Percy," thalia stated smiling "Percy can be smart when he wants to be but he can also be incredibly slow on the uptake"

"Ah I see" peruses said smiling at the girl. thalia his sister it was weird to wrap his brain around it even though she was the spitting image of their father. And the boy Jason was their brother too even though he was supposedly roman. He was still confused on the whole roman Greek thing so he tried not to think about it.

**"Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a ****_myth, _****Percy? Was Mrs. Dodds a myth?"**

**"So you ****_admit _****there was a Mrs. Dodds!"**

"Really Percy really" nico said. Percy just pouted on thalias lap everyone was making fun of him and it wasn't fair!

**"Of course."**

**"Then why—"**

**"The less you knew, the fewer monsters you'd attract," Grover said, like that should be perfectly obvious. "We put Mist over the humans' eyes. We hoped you'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination. But it was no good. You started to realize who you are."**

"No good," hazel stated, "that's just going to confuse him further"

**"Who I—wait a minute, what do you mean?"**

**The weird bellowing noise rose up again somewhere behind us, closer than before. Whatever was chasing us was still on our trail.**

**"Percy," my mom said, "there's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you to safety."**

**"Safety from what? Who's after me?"**

**"Oh, nobody much," Grover said, obviously still miffed about the donkey comment. "Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions."**

"Why am I the only one blamed," hades asked annoyed.

"Well after the kindly one who is your minion sir it's only natural for you to be responsible for this too." Thalia stated as politely at possible. Hades nodded to her and she sighed, yeah she didn't care what the gods thought of her, but she wasn't crazy and was at least polite.

**"Grover!"**

**"Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. Could you drive faster, please?"**

**I tried to wrap my mind around what was happening, but I couldn't do it. I knew this wasn't a dream. I had no imagination. **

Both nico and Thalia snorted, "Yeah right," thalia stated, "he has to have an imagination to think up his plans."

"That and be insane," nico stated.

**I could never dream up something this weird.**

"Again so not true Percy has the weirdest dreams ever and I'm not including demigod dreams," nico said smiling, as he remembered when Percy would tell him about a dream he had. Nico sighed he missed those days of just talking.

**My mom made a hard left. We swerved onto a narrower road, racing past darkened farmhouses and wooded hills and PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES signs on white picket fences.**

"Almost there," Poseidon said to himself.

**"Where are we going?" I asked.**

**"The summer camp I told you about." **

**My mother's voice was tight; she was trying for my sake not to be scared. "The place your father wanted to send you."**

**"The place you didn't want me to go."**

"Poor dear," Hestia said, "it must be so hard to send your child away."

**"Please, dear," my mother begged. "This is hard enough. Try to understand. You're in danger."**

**"Because some old ladies cut yarn."**

The tense atmosphere returned instantly at the mention of the fates

**"Those weren't old ladies," Grover said. "Those were the Fates. Do you know what it means—the fact they appeared in front of you? They only do that when you're about to ... when someone's about to die."**

"Way to stutter there Grover," Thalia said.

**"Whoa. You said 'you.'"**

**"No I didn't. I said 'someone.'"**

**"You meant 'you.' As in ****_me._****"**

**"I meant ****_you, _****like 'someone.' Not you, ****_you._****"**

"Boys," Thalia and Artemis muttered, causing Artemis to smile at her.

**"Boys!" my mom said.**

**She pulled the wheel hard to the right, and I got a glimpse of a figure she'd swerved to avoid—a dark fluttering shape now lost behind us in the storm.**

**"What was that?" I asked.**

**"We're almost there," my mother said, ignoring my question.**

"Wow even his mom ignores him," Jason stated snickering. Thalia, nico, and hazel laughed although the later meant it teasingly while the former meant it meanly.

**"Another mile. Please. Please. Please."**

**I didn't know where ****_there _****was, but I found myself leaning forward in the car, anticipating, wanting us to arrive.**

All the occupants in the room were doing the same thing leaning toward the book in Poseidon's hands waiting.

**Outside, nothing but rain and darkness—the kind of empty countryside you get way out on the tip of Long Island. I thought about Mrs. Dodds and the moment when she'd changed into the thing with pointed teeth and leathery wings. My limbs went numb from delayed shock. She really ****_hadn't _****been human. She'd meant to kill me.**

"Wow your right he is a bit slow," Perseus said smiling at Thalia who smiled back nodding her head to his words.

**Then I thought about Mr. Brunner ... and the sword he had thrown me. Before I could ask Grover about that, the hair rose on the back of my neck. There was a blinding flash, a jaw-rattling ****_boom!, _****and our car exploded.**

"What," thalia said, "how did that happen?"

**I remember feeling weightless, like I was being crushed, fried, and hosed down all at the same time.**

**I peeled my forehead off the back of the driver's seat and said, "Ow."**

"Seriously after the description of being crushed, fried, and hosed down all he could say was ow!" nico stated.

**"Percy!" my mom shouted.**

**"I'm okay..."**

**I tried to shake off the daze. I wasn't dead. The car hadn't really exploded. We'd swerved into a ditch. Our driver's-side doors were wedged in the mud. The roof had cracked open like an eggshell and rain was pouring in.**

**Lightning. **

"Dad" Thalia yelled, and Poseidon sprayed him with ice water for almost killing his son. Zeus glared at Poseidon and said, "I haven't done it yet."

"And you won't do it in the future," Thalia stated glaring at Zeus, who leaned away from his daughter she was as intimidating as Hera.

**That was the only explanation. We'd been blasted right off the road. Next to me in the backseat was a big motionless lump. "Grover!"**

Thalia sucked in a breathe she knew Grover was alive but hearing about him hurt pulled on her heart after all she owed a lot to Grover and he was her friend.

**He was slumped over, blood trickling from the side of his mouth. I shook his furry hip, thinking, No! Even if you are half barnyard animal, you're my best friend and I don't want you to die!**

"Awww" the goddess cooed and little Percy blushed.

**Then he groaned "Food," and I knew there was hope.**

Nico and Thalia shook their heads smiling.

**"Percy," my mother said, "we have to ..." Her voice faltered.**

**I looked back. In a flash of lightning, through the mud-spattered rear windshield, I saw a figure lumbering toward us on the shoulder of the road. The sight of it made my skin crawl. It was a dark silhouette of a huge guy, like a football player. He seemed to be holding a blanket over his head. His top half was bulky and fuzzy. His upraised hands made it look like he had horns.**

Athena gasped she looked over at the small boy in thalia's arms and felt a tug in her heart she knew what monster this was, and she didn't know how he could have made it out alive. And then she thought of camp and the feeling in her chest loosened, yes someone would come save the boy.

**I swallowed hard. "Who is—"**

**"Percy," my mother said, deadly serious. "Get out of the car."**

**My mother threw herself against the driver's-side door. It was jammed shut in the mud. I tried mine. Stuck too. I looked up desperately at the hole in the roof. It might've been an exit, but the edges were sizzling and smoking.**

The tension in the room rose higher and higher with every word Poseidon read

**"Climb out the passenger's side!" my mother told me. "Percy—you have to run. Do you see that big tree?"**

"Aww look I'm mentioned," everyone stared at her like she was crazy except nico who had heard the story before.

**_"What?"_**

**Another flash of lightning, and through the smoking hole in the roof I saw the tree she meant: a huge, White House Christmas tree-sized pine at the crest of the nearest hill.**

Thalia sighed at her description then she felt a hand squeeze her shoulder affectionately and turned to see nico smiling at her and she smiled back.

**"That's the property line," my mom said. "Get over that hill and you'll see a big farmhouse down in the valley. Run and don't look back. Yell for help. Don't stop until you reach the door."**

**"Mom, you're coming too."**

Thalia bit her lip and her arms tightened around Percy in her worry. Percy's mom wouldn't be able to cross the boundary, Thalia knew she was alive but at the moment she couldn't understand how and that worried her after all she was never told of this.

**Her face was pale, her eyes as sad as when she looked at the ocean.**

**"No!" I shouted. "You ****_are _****coming with me. Help me carry Grover."**

**"Food!" Grover moaned, a little louder.**

"Aww that boy cares so much for those around him its sweet" Hera stated.

"It's going to get him killed" Theseus said.

"Brother," Orion scolded.

Theseus shrugged "what its true and you know it" Orion sighed knowing Theseus was right, but he couldn't blame Percy for wanting to save his mom and his friends after all he was still young and new to this whole demi god thing. Orion knew Percy would grow out of the save everyone phase all demigods did but that thought didn't make him happy.

**The man with the blanket on his head kept coming toward us, making his grunting, snorting noises. As he got closer, I realized he ****_couldn't _****be holding a blanket over his head, because his hands—huge meaty hands—were swinging at his sides. There was no blanket. Meaning the bulky, fuzzy mass that was too big to be his head ... was his head. And the points that looked like horns …**

"It's the minotaur," Poseidon squeaked out. Athena rolled her eyes and was about to mock him when she saw how worried he was and so she held back. All the new heroes looked shocked how could Percy survive he couldn't fight the Minotaur with no training and no weapons it was impossible.

The heroes of old were thinking the same thing and Theseus was even more worried having faced the Minotaur himself knowing how hard he was to fight.

**"He doesn't want ****_us_****," my mother told me. "He wants ****_you. _****Besides, I can't cross the property line."**

Thalia and nico tensed worried about sally. Percy listened intently, yes there were a few things he didn't quite understand, but he got the jist of it and he really wanted to hear more about his mommy.

**"But..."**

**"We don't have time, Percy. Go. Please."**

**I got mad, then—mad at my mother, at Grover the goat,**

"Don't get mad at your mother she is trying to protect you," Hera scolded.

**at the thing with horns that was lumbering toward us slowly and deliberately like, like a bull.**

"It is a bull," Hercules stated annoyed at how slow Percy was Thalia his sister glared at him fiercely, but he ignored her.

**I climbed across Grover and pushed the door open into the rain. "We're going together. Come on, Mom."**

**"I told you—"**

**"Mom! I am not leaving you. Help me with Grover."**

Hestia smiled a Percy's determination to save his mom and friend it was so different than what you see in other heroes, although she thought, as she looked at Thalia and nico and hazel, maybe the future was different. She wasn't sure about Jason she got a vibe similar to Hercules off that boy, she hoped he would not make the same mistakes as the older hero.

**I didn't wait for her answer. I scrambled outside, dragging Grover from the car. He was surprisingly light, but I couldn't have carried him very far if my mom hadn't come to my aid.**

**Together, we draped Grover's arms over our shoulders and started stumbling uphill through wet waist-high grass.**

**Glancing back, I got my first clear look at the monster. He was seven feet tall, easy, his arms and legs like something from the cover of ****_Muscle Man _****magazine—bulging biceps and triceps and a bunch of other 'ceps, all stuffed like baseballs under vein-webbed skin. He wore no clothes except under wear—**

Hades looked at the book incredulously, since when did the Minotaur start wearing that he shook his head monsters in the future.

**I mean, bright white Fruit of the Looms**

This made everyone laugh and hades shook his head again.

**—which would've looked funny, except that the top half of his body was so scary. Coarse brown hair started at about his belly button and got thicker as it reached his shoulders.**

**His neck was a mass of muscle and fur leading up to his enormous head, which had a snout as long as my arm, snotty nostrils with a gleaming brass ring, cruel black eyes, and horns—enormous black-and-white horns with points you just couldn't get from an electric sharpener.**

There were snorts and looks of amusement around the room and Thalia ruffled Percy's hair fondly, and Percy scowled at her just making her laugh some more as he tried to straighten his ruffled hair.

**I recognized the monster, all right. He had been in one of the first stories Mr. Brunner told us. But he couldn't be real.**

"Slow" nico coughed.

**I blinked the rain out of my eyes. "That's—"**

**"Pasiphae's son," my mother said.**

"Smart women" Hermes stated.

**"I wish I'd known how badly they want to kill you."**

"That'll make Percy feel better," nico stated laughing, yes he was worried but the tension was gone for the moment and so he joked trying to keep the mood in the room light and his mind off his worry.

**"But he's the Min—"**

**"Don't say his name," she warned. "Names have power."**

Athena nodded her head "she is definitely smart."

"She would have made and excellent hunter," Artemis agreed with Athena.

**The pine tree was still way too far—a hundred yards uphill at least.**

**I glanced behind me again.**

**The bull-man hunched over our car, looking in the win dows—or not looking, exactly. More like snuffling, nuzzling. I wasn't sure why he bothered, since we were only about fifty feet away.**

"He goes by smell," Athena supplied.

"You're talking to a book thena," Hermes stated smirking.

Athena glared at him, "don't call me thena."

**"Food?" Grover moaned.**

**"Shhh," I told him. "Mom, what's he doing? Doesn't he see us?"**

**"His sight and hearing are terrible," she said. "He goes by smell. But he'll figure out where we are soon enough."**

Athena nodded smiling at the book.

**As if on cue, the bull-man bellowed in rage. He picked up Gabe's Camaro by the torn roof, the chassis creaking and groaning. He raised the car over his head and threw it down the road. It slammed into the wet asphalt and skidded in a shower of sparks for about half a mile before coming to a stop. The gas tank exploded.**

**_Not a scratch, _****I remembered Gabe saying.**

Laughter echoed from everyone in the room even Jason and Hercules let out a snort.

**Oops.**

The laughter increased Poseidon waited a few minutes for the laughter to die down before reading again.

**"Percy," my mom said. "When he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way— directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?"**

"Wow impressive battle strategy for a mortal," Ares and Athena stated together.

"That was weird," nico said.

"Not really," thalia replied "after all they are both god and goddess of war. What makes Athena better is she has wisdom along with war, while Ares has just war and violence." Thalia explained. nico nodded taking that in.

**"How do you know all this?"**

**"I've been worried about an attack for a long time. I should have expected this. I was selfish, keeping you near me."**

"That's not selfish that's being a mother," Hestia said kindly.

**"Keeping me near you? But—"**

**Another bellow of rage, and the bull-man started tromping uphill.**

**He'd smelled us.**

**The pine tree was only a few more yards, but the hill was getting steeper and slicker, **

The tension was back.

**The bull-man closed in. Another few seconds and he'd be on top of us.**

**My mother must've been exhausted, but she shouldered Grover. "Go, Percy! Separate! Remember what I said."**

**I didn't want to split up, but I had the feeling she was right—it was our only chance. I sprinted to the left, turned, and saw the creature bearing down on me. His black eyes glowed with hate. He reeked like rotten meat.**

**He lowered his head and charged, those razor-sharp horns aimed straight at my chest.**

**The fear in my stomach made me want to bolt, but that wouldn't work. I could never outrun this thing.**

"At least he's smart enough to realize that" Athena said.

**So I held my ground, and at the last moment, I jumped to the side.**

**The bull-man stormed past like a freight train, then bellowed with frustration and turned, but not toward me this time, toward my mother, who was setting Grover down in the grass.**

"Oh no!" Hestia said worriedly. Little Percy who caught on to what was happening gave a small squeak and snuggled into thalia who hugged him tightly.

**We'd reached the crest of the hill. Down the other side I could see a valley, just as my mother had said, and the lights of a farmhouse glowing yellow through the rain. But that was half a mile away. We'd never make it.**

"Stop being so pessimistic," thalia said to little Percy and book Percy.

**The bull-man grunted, pawing the ground. He kept eyeing my mother, who was now retreating slowly downhill, back toward the road, trying to lead the monster away from Grover.**

"What a good women trying to protect the children," Hestia stated.

"Yes" Demeter agreed she probably eats plenty of grains and wheat," hades rolled his eyes at Demeter.

**"Run, Percy!" she told me. "I can't go any farther. Run!"**

**But I just stood there, frozen in fear, as the monster charged her. **

"No" Poseidon stated, and Percy shook a bit in thalias arms.

**She tried to sidestep, as she'd told me to do, but the monster had learned his lesson. His hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck as she tried to get away. He lifted her as she struggled, kicking and pummeling the air.**

**"Mom!"**

**She caught my eyes, managed to choke out one last word: "Go!"**

**Then, with an angry roar, the monster closed his fists around my mother's neck, and she dissolved before my eyes, melting into light, a shimmering golden form, as if she were a holographic projection. A blinding flash, and she was simply ... gone.**

"Mommy's gone," Percy stated. Then just like that he burst into tears "mommy!" he called out thalia tried to comfort the poor boy, "its ok Percy your mom's fine just fine" but Percy was lost he looked around desperately trying to locate his mother "mommy!" he called out again and as he cried they felt the earth shake everyone turned to Poseidon who shook his head telling them it wasn't him, and that's when they looked to Percy in shock such a little boy should not have those powers. Orion and Theseus were shocked as well they were much older and they couldn't cause an earth shake like that. "Mommy!" Percy cried out Poseidon took Percy from thalia and hugged him, but his touch didn't calm Percy after all he was not his mamma and that was the only person he wanted to see. And just like that there was suddenly a blue light and when it died down there was sally younger than what thalia and nico remembered, so probably from little Percy's time. she looked shocked as she took in the situation and blushed when she caught sight of Poseidon, and then her eyes widened as she saw Percy in his arms she hurried forward as she saw the poor boy in tears calling out for her. "Percy! its ok little one," sally said holding out her arms for Percy. Poseidon passed him to her and Percy held onto his mother fiercely and the earthquake stopped. Peace was restored; all you could hear was Percy's hiccups as he stopped crying and sally whispering soothingly to the boy. Than sally turned sharply toward Poseidon, "what is going on here?! why was he crying? what did you do?" Poseidon held up his hands in surrender, and quickly explained the situation about the books leaving out the part about Percy's abuse he would tell her later away from Percy. Sally blushed red and apologized for her temper Poseidon just smiled at her and told her it was what any mother would do, and then he conjured her up her own chair and she sat down with Percy on her lap. And everyone else got settled back down still shocked by the power the little boy held.

**"No!"**

**Anger replaced my fear. Newfound strength burned in my limbs—the same rush of energy I'd gotten when Mrs. Dodds grew talons.**

"Queue kick butt Percy," nico said excitedly.

**The bull-man bore down on Grover, who lay helpless in the grass. The monster hunched over, snuffling my best friend, as if he were about to lift Grover up and make him dissolve too.**

**I couldn't allow that.**

Theseus leaned forward wanting to know how his little brother would handle the minotaur.

**I stripped off my red rain jacket.**

Thalia groaned guessing where this was going

**"Hey!" I screamed, waving the jacket, running to one side of the monster. "Hey, stupid! Ground beef!"**

"Wonderful name calling Percy," nico stated sarcastically.

**"Raaaarrrrr!" The monster turned toward me, shaking his meaty fists.**

**I had an idea**

"Great he's doomed," nico said.

**—a stupid idea,**

"Never mind he'll be fine," at the confused looks nico answered, "Percy's good plans always end up in disaster but his stupid plans always tend to work out in the end."

** but better than no idea at all.**

"That makes perfect sense," Apollo stated.

"It would make sense to you," artemis rolled her eyes.

**I put my back to the big pine tree and waved my red jacket in front of the bull-man, thinking I'd jump out of the way at the last moment.**

**But it didn't happen like that.**

"Nothing ever goes as planned with Percy."

"Nope," nico agreed, "but it always ends up being completely kick ass!"

"Language" thalia stated, whacking nico over the head.

**The bull-man charged too fast, his arms out to grab me whichever way I tried to dodge.**

**Time slowed down.**

**My legs tensed. I couldn't jump sideways, so I leaped straight up, kicking off from the creature's head, using it as a springboard, turning in midair, and landing on his neck.**

**How did I do that?**

Theseus whistled impressed not many could pull that off with any training.

**I didn't have time to figure it out. A millisecond later, the monster's head slammed into the tree and the impact nearly knocked my teeth out.**

**The bull-man staggered around, trying to shake me. I locked my arms around his horns to keep from being thrown. Thunder and lightning were still going strong. The rain was in my eyes. The smell of rotten meat burned my nostrils.**

Most of the goddesses wrinkled their noses at this.

**The monster shook himself around and bucked like a rodeo bull. He should have just backed up into the tree and smashed me flat, but I was starting to realize that this thing had only one gear: forward.**

"At least he figured that out," Athena said, "it should help him."

**Meanwhile, Grover started groaning in the grass. I wanted to yell at him to shut up, but the way I was getting tossed around, if I opened my mouth I'd bite my own tongue off.**

**"Food!" Grover moaned.**

Nico slapped his hand to his head in frustration at Grover.

**The bull-man wheeled toward him, pawed the ground again, and got ready to charge. I thought about how he had squeezed the life out of my mother, made her disappear in a flash of light,**

Nico frowned and so did hades they both knew what that meant. Nico nodded to himself it made sense after all sally was alive now in their time. He leaned over and told thalia, who he knew was just as distressed over sally's apparent death as he had been.

**and rage filled me like high-octane fuel. I got both hands around one horn and I pulled backward with all my might.**

"Nope never going to happen," Theseus said.

** The monster tensed, gave a surprised grunt, then—****_snap!_**

Theseus's jaw dropped as well as a few other jaws as people turned to look at the five year old, who was showing his mom the stuffed hippocampus that Poseidon had given him, in shock this boy was definitely something else.

"What was that you were saying Theseus," Orion asked smirking. Theseus huffed a bit and ignored Orion.

**The bull-man screamed and flung me through the air. I landed flat on my back in the grass. My head smacked against a rock. When I sat up, my vision was blurry, but I had a horn in my hands, a ragged bone weapon the size of a knife.**

"So that's how he got that," nico stated, "I'd always wondered about it"

**The monster charged.**

**Without thinking, I rolled to one side and came up kneeling. As the monster barreled past, I drove the broken horn straight into his side, right up under his furry rib cage.**

"Props for using the minotaur's own weapon against him," thalia stated smiling.

**The bull-man roared in agony. He flailed, clawing at his chest, then began to disintegrate—not like my mother, in a flash of golden light, but like crumbling sand, blown away in chunks by the wind, the same way Mrs. Dodds had burst apart.**

**The monster was gone.**

Theseus was still in shock the boy had just taken out a minotaur with no training at all, then he smiled perhaps Percy would be an ok little brother.

**The rain had stopped. The storm still rumbled, but only in the distance. I smelled like livestock and my knees were shaking. My head felt like it was splitting open. I was weak and scared and trembling with grief I'd just seen my mother vanish. I wanted to lie down and cry, but there was Grover, needing my help, so I managed to haul him up and stagger down into the valley, toward the lights of the farm house. I was crying, calling for my mother, but I held on to Grover—I wasn't going to let him go.**

"Awww" many goddesses cooed and sally smiled down at her son.

**The last thing I remember is collapsing on a wooden porch, looking up at a ceiling fan circling above me, moths flying around a yellow light, and the stern faces of a familiar-looking bearded man and a pretty girl, her blond hair curled like a princess's.**

Aphrodite squealed and the gods winced as she went off on a tirade about how he was going to fall in love and how exciting his love life would be.

**They both looked down at me, and the girl said, "He's the one. He must be."**

This just made Aphrodite squeal louder.

**"Silence, Annabeth," the man said. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside."**

"Oooo," Aphrodite smiled they said, "annabeth was your daughter Athena, how cute it's like Romeo and Juliet." No one bothered to tell her that both Romeo and Juliet had died in the end, because they knew she would just think it was more romantic and tragic. It was one of the reasons her and Ares got on so well. Violence and war and love were closely intertwined in this world.

"That's the end of the chapter" Poseidon said holding out the book

"I'll read next," said Demeter taking the book from Poseidon.

AN: that's it for now hope you enjoy please review.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys please don't kill me I know it been a while but I sorta lost my muse for a while but then I read mark of Athena and I'm back and this time I swear I won't wait this long to update….hopefully. Anyway here's the next chapter hope you enjoy

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing it all belongs to rick

Demeter took the book from Poseidon but before she could read a bright light engulfed hazel and then it disappeared leaving behind a different hazel and unconscious figure. This hazel was more dirty and war torn she looked around and smiled "I'm back." she said though she seemed quite exhausted.

"What just happened?" Thalia asked.

"Well from what I can gather hazel of the past has been switched with hazel of the future." Athena stated. hazel nodded "yup its true I'm from just after a quest I took with Percy and Frank." Nico looked shocked "a quest?" he questioned, "are you ok" hazel gaped at him and smiled before diving at nico "oh nico you're ok I'm so happy"

"What are you talking about" hazel explained about Gaia to the gods and how nico had been captured after he had found the doors of death. Nico looked shocked and Thalia looked worriedly at nico "I hope your future self's ok." Nico shrugged "I'm sure I'm fine." Although his face was pale he managed a smile. That's when nico noticed the other figure on the floor "Percy!" he cried out. Everyone turned to stare little Percy looked over at nico "yes"

"not you Percy older Percy" nico said skidding to the figures side everyone gaped and Thalia let out a small squeak before running to Nico's side the older Percy was sound asleep and he looked awful. Hazel stared down at Percy "he must be from farther in the future than me because he was definitely not that beat up in my time."

"But why isn't he waking up"

"Look here's a note" Thalia said noticing a piece of paper on the floor near him. She read out

_Dear heroes and gods,_

_Yes I have sent hazel and Percy from the future. Hazel is from after the battle of camp Jupiter while Percy is from after Nico's rescue mission. Please continue reading from when you left off Percy won't wake until he time in the story that I want him to so please leave him be._

_ The fates_

"Well it looks like we've got no choice let keep reading" Athena stated

"what are we going to do with Percy we can't just leave him on the floor" Thalia stated

"ooh leave it to me" Aphrodite said and with a wave of her hand Percy was incased in a glass coffin she smiled and squealed "it's just so romantic he's like snow white guy version asleep until true loves kiss awakes him" she squealed some more and no one bothered to tell her that no one was going to kiss Percy, she wouldn't listen anyway besides nico, hazel, and Thalia were to busy laughing at the thought of Percy being a male snow-white. Percy would never live this one down. Meanwhile little Percy and the heroes of old surrounded the coffin all wanting to know what the hero looked like. Percy looked shocked at seeing his future self he shook his head and went to sit with his mother "This is so weird" he said and sally just laughed although she was worried for older Percy after all he was her son too and he seemed to be in bad condition. The other heroes looked down at Percy in curiosity Hercules rolled his eyes at the young hero he looked so scrawny like he could be a great hero. Jason thought the same as his half-brother Percy didn't look like a hero. Jason had been expecting more but now he smirked seems like he was right Percy was nothing much. Theseus and Orion looked at their little brother with sadness he looked so beat up and small the coffin didn't help it just made him look worse. They had both grown close to the little Percy and their worry also went out for the older version. Demeter cleared her throat and everyone went back to their seats. Poseidon took one last look at his son in worry and went to sit down there was nothing else that he could do for the moment.

**I play Pinochle with a horse." **Demeter read.

**I had weird dreams full of barnyard animals. Most of them wanted to kill me. The rest wanted food.**

The room was filled with laughter Percy looked at his elder self oddly as though he couldn't believe his older self was that weird.

**I must have woken up several times, but what I heard and saw made no sense, so I just passed out again.**

"Well that's one way to deal with it" Apollo stated laughing.

** I remember lying in a soft bed, being spoon-fed something that tasted like buttered popcorn, only it was pudding. The girl with curly blonde hair hovered over me, smirking as scarped drips off my chin with the spoon.**

"Awww" Aphrodite squealed she was giddy with the prospect of romance

**When she saw my eyes open, she asked, "What will happen at the summer solstice?"**

Thalia shook her head "I can't believe she actually thought he might know something" at the questioning looks she shrugged and stated "Percy's known for not knowing anything" little Percy huffed and pouted at that. Sally smiled down to her pouting son and ruffled his hair.

**I managed to croak, "What?"** **She looked around; as if afraid someone would over hear. "What's going on? What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks!""I'm sorry," I mumbled, "I don't..."Somebody knocked on the door, and the girl quickly filled my mouth with pudding.**

"That's one way to shut a boy up" Artemis stated smiling Thalia smiled and agreed while the males in the room pouted.

**The next time I woke up, the girl was gone.**

"Aww how sweet he misses her! I can't wait to mess with his love life it sounds so promising." Aphrodite said smiling she looked at Ares and stated "do you think we could make this one into a war like Helen and Paris?" Ares smirked "of course I'm always in the mood for a good war" Aphrodite squealed in delight and clapped her hands all the other gods rolled their eyes.

**A husky blond dude, like a surfer, stood in the corner of the bedroom keeping watch over me. He had blue eyes- at least a dozen of them- on his cheeks, his forehead, the backs of his hands.**

"Wow seriously" hazel asked

"Yup pretty cool huh" nico stated happy that his camp could impress his sister

**When I finally came around for good, there was nothing weird about my surroundings, except that they were nicer than I was used to. I was sitting in a deck chair on a huge porch, gazing across a meadow at green hills in the distance. The breeze smelled like strawberries. There was a blanket over my legs, a pillow behind my neck.**

"That sounds beautiful" hazel stated again it was so interesting learning about the Greek camp.

**All that was great, but my mouth felt like a scorpion had been using it for a nest. My tongue was dry and nasty and every one of my teeth hurt. On the table next to me was a tall drink. It looked like iced apple juice, with a green straw and a paper parasol stuck through a maraschino cherry.**

Apollo drooled at the sound of the nectar and snapped his fingers conjuring up a glass and downing it in a few gulps he smiled satisfied Artemis rolled her eyes at her brother.

**My hand was so weak I almost dropped the glass once I got my fingers around it.**

"Wimp" Ares stated earning a glare from little Percy and Poseidon like father like son

**"Careful," a familiar voice said.**

**Grover was leaning against the porch railing, looking like he hadn't slept in a week.**

"Probably because he hadn't" Thalia said "poor Grover"

**Under one arm, he cradled a shoe box. He was wearing blue jeans, Converse hi-tops and a bright orange T-shirt that said CAMP HALF-BLOOD. Just plain old Grover, Not the goat boy.**

Thalia huffed "hey that's my nickname for Grover no stealing Percy" no one bothered to tell her that she was talking to a book.

**So maybe I'd had a nightmare. Maybe my mom was okay. We were still on vacation, and we'd stopped here at this big house for some reason. And...**

"Poor boy" Hestia said sadly staring at the older Percy in sympathy.

**"You saved my life," Grover said. "I... well, the least I could do ... I went back to the hill. I thought you might want this." Reverently, he placed the shoe box in my lap. Inside was a black-and-white bull's horn, the base jagged from being broken off, the tip splattered with dried blood. It hadn't been a nightmare.**

Thalia and nico were still trying to process everything how was sally still alive if this had happened they didn't understand.

**"The Minotaur," I said.**

"Didn't his mom just tell him not to say names idiot boy" Artemis stated

"Hey! I'm not an idiot" little Percy stated arms crossed as he glared up at the goddess everyone stared at the boy in shock no one spoke to Artemis like that especially not a boy Artemis looked down at Percy "all boys are idiots young one"

"Are not and i'll prove it I bet you that I'm smart based on these books" Artemis smiled "fine I'll take that bet" Artemis stated stupid boy she though so arrogant thinking he could win against a goddess. Artemis was sure she would win. Thalia smiled to herself although she loved Artemis she knew the goddess would be eating her words.

**"Urn, Percy, it isn't a good idea-" "That's what they call him in the Greek myths, isn't it?" I demanded. "The Minotaur. Half man, half bull."**

See Artemis thought he's already acting stupid saying the name even after being warned.

**Grover shifted uncomfortably. "You've been out for two days. How much do you remember?"**

**"My mom. Is she really ..."**

**He looked down.**

Percy snuggled into his mom and sally hugged him back.

**I stared across the meadow. There were groves of trees, a winding stream, acres of strawberries spread out under the blue sky. The valley was surrounded by rolling hills, and the tallest one, directly in front of us, was the one with the huge pine tree on top. Even that looked beautiful in the sunlight.**

"What's that supposed to mean am I not supposed to look beautiful." Thalia stated glaring at the book.

"I don't think that's what he means dear" Hestia stated getting where Percy was going

**My mother was gone. The whole world should be black and cold. Nothing should look beautiful.**

"Oh" Thalia stated then looked at older Percy "who knew you could be so deep eh kelp head"

**"I'm sorry," Grover sniffled. "I'm a failure. I'm- I'm the worst satyr in the world." He moaned, stomping his foot so hard it came off. I mean, the Converse hi-top came off. The inside was filled with Styrofoam, except for a hoof-shaped hole.**

"I don't understand how those things stay on at all." Nico said

"Magic" Thalia answered sarcastically

"Smartass" nico shot back Thalia just smirked

**Oh, Styx!" he mumbled. thunder rolled across the clear sky.**

"Dramatic much brother" hades said. Zeus blushed and Poseidon and hades laughed.

**As he struggled to get his hoof back in the fake foot, I thought, well, that settles it. Grover was a satyr. I was ready to bet that if I shaved his curly brown hair, I'd find tiny horns on his head. But I was too miserable to care that satyrs existed, or even Minotaur's. All that meant was my mom really had been squeezed into nothingness, dissolved into yellow light.**

The gods frowned and a few of them shot looks at hades who shrugged

**I was alone. An orphan. I would have to live with ... Smelly Gabe?**

"No" Poseidon stated forcefully sally looked to Poseidon but he motioned that he'd tell her later.

**No. That would never happen. I would live on the streets first. I would pretend I was seventeen and join the army.**

Ares snorted "yeah right kid your too wimpy to join the army." Ares was sprayed with ice water for his comment.

** I'd do something. Grover was still sniffling. The poor kid- poor goat, satyr, whatever- looked as if he expected to be hit. I said, "It wasn't your fault." "Yes, it was. I was supposed to ****_protect _****you." "Did my mother ask you to protect me?" "No. But that's my job. I'm a keeper. At least... I was." "But why ..." I suddenly felt dizzy, my vision swimming.**

"Again with more water metaphors" Athena stated shaking her head

**"Don't strain yourself," Grover said. "Here." He helped me hold my glass and put the straw to my lips. I recoiled at the taste,**

"What! Why! that stuff tastes amazing."

** because I was expecting apple juice.**

"oh"

** It wasn't that at all. It was chocolate-chip cookies. Liquid cookies.**

"Mmm that sounds so good" Thalia stated

"yeah" nico said "especially if their Mrs. Jackson's" sally blushed as Thalia nodded enthusiastically

**And not just any cookies- my mom's homemade blue chocolate-chip cookies, buttery and hot, with the chips still melting. Drinking it, my whole body felt warm and good, full of energy. My grief didn't go away, but I felt as if my mom had just brushed her hand against my cheek, given me a cookie the way she used to when I was small, and told me everything was going to be okay.**

"You sound like a wonderful mother" Hera said kindly to sally. Yes she was friends with Amphitrite but she didn't fault sally it was all the cheating husbands fault.

**Before I knew it, I'd drained the glass. I stared into it, sure I'd just had a warm drink, but the ice cubes hadn't even melted. "Was it good?" Grover asked. I nodded. "What did it taste like?" He sounded so wistful, I felt guilty.**

"Only Percy would feel guilty about something as small as that"

**"Sorry," I said. "I should've let you taste."**

**His eyes got wide. "No! That's not what I meant. I just... wondered."**

**"Chocolate-chip cookies," I said. "My mom's. Home made."**

**He sighed. "And how do you feel?"**

**"Like I could throw Nancy Bobofit a hundred yards."**

"Good for Percy bad for Nancy" Thalia stated smiling.

**"That's good," he said. "That's good. I don't think you could risk drinking any more of that stuff"**

**"What do you mean?"**

**He took the empty glass from me gingerly, as if it were dynamite, and set it back on the table. "Come on. Chiron and Mr. D are waiting."**

"this will be interesting I've always wondered how Percy reacted to meeting his first god"

**The porch wrapped all the way around the farmhouse.** **My legs felt wobbly, trying to walk that far. Grover offered to carry the Minotaur horn, but I held on to it. I'd paid for that souvenir the hard way. I wasn't going to let it go.**

"I don't blame him I wouldn't either" Perseus said to Theseus who nodded

**As we came around the opposite end of the house, I caught my breath.**

Hazel leaned forward wanting to know what Percy's camp looked like.

**We must've been on the north shore of Long Island, because on this side of the house, the valley marched all the way up to the water, which glittered about a mile in the distance. Between here and there, I simply couldn't process everything I was seeing. The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture" an open-air pavilion, an amphitheater, a circular arena" except that they all looked brand new, their white marble columns sparkling in the sun.**

"Wow" hazel said in awe even the heroes of old seemed a bit jealous the camp sounded wonderful.

** In a nearby sandpit, a dozen high school-age kids and satyrs played volleyball. Canoes glided across a small lake. Kids in bright orange T-shirts like Grover's were chasing each other around a cluster of cabins nestled in the woods. Some shot targets at an archery range. Others rode horses down a wooded trail, and, unless I was hallucinating, some of their horses had wings.**

"No way you have more than one Pegasus" hazel stated in awe nico smiled at his sister "ya and when you come over you can ride them." hazel looked giddy at the thought.

**Down at the end of the porch, two men sat across from each other at a card table. The blond-haired girl who'd spoon-fed me popcorn-flavored pudding was leaning on the porch rail next to them. The man facing me was small, but porky. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly hair so black it was almost purple. He looked like those paintings of baby angels- what do you call them, hubbubs? No, cherubs. That's it. He looked like a cherub who'd turned middle-aged in a trailer park.**

Several gods and all the heroes snorted Mr.D glared at little Percy who was snickering behind his hand.

**He wore a tiger-pattern Hawaiian shirt, and he would've fit right in at one of Gabe's poker parties, except I got the feeling this guy could've out-gambled even my step father.**

"Of course I can out gamble anyone"

"Except Chiron" nico whispered to Thalia making her laugh

**"That's Mr. D," Grover murmured to me. "He's the camp director. Be polite. The girl, that's Annabeth Chase. She's just a camper, but she's been here longer than just about anybody. And you already know Chiron..."**

**He pointed at the guy whose back was to me.**

**First, I realized he was sitting in the wheelchair. Then I recognized the tweed jacket, the thinning brown hair, the scraggly beard.**

**"Mr. Brunner!" I cried.**

Thalia shook her head "that has to be confusing"

**The Latin teacher turned and smiled at me. His eyes had that mischievous glint they sometimes got in class when he pulled a pop quiz and made all the multiple choice answers ****_B_****.**

"I hate when teachers do that" Thalia stated

"No what's even worse is when they make all the answers b and one answer c then it really screws you up"(an: I had a teacher that did this it really bothered me).

**"Ah, good, Percy," he said. "Now we have four for pinochle."**

**He offered me a chair to the right of Mr. D, who looked at me with bloodshot eyes and heaved a great sigh. "Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you."**

Zeus glared at his son who raised his hands in surrender both Jason and hazel grimaced they didn't think they'd like Mr. although hazel had to admit she was a bit jealous after all romans hardly ever saw gods the Greeks were accustomed to seeing gods. It was unfair. Jason was thinking along the same lines.

**"Uh, thanks." I scooted a little farther away from him because, ****_if _****there was one thing I had learned from living with Gabe, it was how to tell when an adult has been hitting the happy juice. If Mr. D was a stranger to alcohol, I was a satyr.**

Sally grimaced at the mention of Gabe and his drinking habits

**"Annabeth?" Mr. Brunner called to the blond girl.** **She came forward and Mr. Brunner introduced us. "This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now." Annabeth said, "Sure, Chiron." She was probably my age, maybe a couple of inches taller, and a whole lot more athletic looking. With her deep tan and her curly blond hair, she was almost exactly what I thought a stereotypical California girl would look like, **

Aphrodite was beaming and giggling "he thinks she's pretty."

**except her eyes ruined the image.**

"Excuse me" Athena stated looking at little Percy "what's wrong with my eyes" little Percy shrugged nothing "I think they're really pretty." Athena blushed slightly and a few goddesses cooed

** They were startling gray, like storm clouds; pretty, but intimidating, too, as if she were analyzing the best way to take me down in a fight.**

"She probably was" Thalia said

**She glanced at the minotaur horn in my hands, then back at me. I imagined she was going to say, ****_You killed a minotaur! _****or ****_Wow, you're so awesome! _****or something like that.**

"Talk about big headed" Jason said scathingly

"He's really not" Thalia said "although we like to tease him by calling him arrogant."

**Instead she said, "You drool when you sleep."**

The heroes all snorted and little Percy said loudly "I do not"

"Yes you do" sally said back causing everyone to laugh and Percy to pout

**Then she sprinted off down the lawn, her blond hair flying behind her.**

**"So," I said, anxious to change the subject. "You, uh, work here, Mr. Brunner?"**

"Nice subject change Percy" nico said smiling

"He's almost as bad as Chiron" Thalia agreed

**"Not Mr. Brunner," the ex-Mr. Brunner said. "I'm afraid that was a pseudonym. You may call me Chiron." "Okay." Totally confused, I looked at the director. "And Mr. D ... does that stand for something?"**

Athena shook her head exasperated

**Mr. D stopped shuffling the cards. He looked at me like I'd just belched loudly. "Young man, names are powerful things. You don't just go around using them for no reason."**

**"Oh. Right. Sorry."**

"ten bucks says he doesn't listen to that" nico said Thalia shook her head "Percy still doesn't listen to that and it's been years."

**"I must say, Percy," Chiron-Brunner broke in, "I'm glad to see you alive. It's been a long time since I've made a house call to a potential camper. I'd hate to think I've wasted my time."**

**"House call?"**

**"My year at Yancy Academy, to instruct you. We have satyrs at most schools, of course, keeping a lookout. But Grover alerted me as soon as he met you. He sensed you were something special, so I decided to come upstate. I convinced the other Latin teacher to ... ah, take a leave of absence."**

"I wonder what he did to him" hazel questioned no one had an answer

**I tried to remember the beginning of the school year. It seemed like so long ago, but I did have a fuzzy memory of there being another Latin teacher my first week at Yancy. Then, without explanation, he had disappeared and Mr. Brunner had taken the class.** **"You came to Yancy just to teach me?" I asked.**

"That's just going to give him a bigger head" nico stated laughing Thalia laughed as well they both sighed thinking of how Percy would react to that if he were awake.

**Chiron nodded. "Honestly, I wasn't sure about you at first.**

"No one is, he doesn't exactly scream hero, but he definitely proves himself quickly" hazel nodded agreeing with Thalia and nico

**We contacted your mother, let her know we were keeping an eye on you in case you were ready for Camp Half-Blood. But you still had so much to learn. Nevertheless, you made it here alive, and that's always the first test."**

**"Grover," Mr. D said impatiently, "are you playing or not?"**

**"Yes, sir!" Grover trembled as he took the fourth chair, though I didn't know why he should be so afraid of a pudgy little man in a tiger-print Hawaiian shirt.**

Mr.D glared at Percy who in turn stuck his tongue out at Mr. D then hid behind Apollo's throne that was closest this made all the heroes laugh and Mr.D huff

**"You ****_do _****know how to play pinochle?" Mr. D eyed me suspiciously.**

**"I'm afraid not," I said.**

**"I'm afraid not, ****_sir_****," he said.**

**"Sir," I repeated. I was liking the camp director less and less.**

"I can see why" hazel muttered

**"Well," he told me, "it is, along with gladiator fighting and Pac-Man, one of the greatest games ever invented by humans. I would expect all ****_civilized _****young men to know the rules."**

"Pac man?" hazel whispered to Thalia confused "don't ask" Thalia said

**"I'm sure the boy can learn," Chiron said.**

**"Please," I said, "what is this place? What am I doing here? Mr. Brunner-Chiron why would you go to Yancy Academy just to teach me?" Mr. D snorted. "I asked the same question. The camp director dealt the cards. Grover flinched every time one landed in his pile.**

"Poor Grover your making the poor thing nervous" Hestia scolded slightly. Mr.D had the decency to look abashed.

**Chiron smiled at me sympathetically, the way he used to in Latin class, as if to let me know that no matter what my average was, ****_I _****was his star student. He expected ****_me _****to have the right answer.**

**"Percy," he said. "Did your mother tell you nothing?'**

**"She said ..." I remembered her sad eyes, looking out over the sea. "She told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father had wanted her to. She said that once I was here, I probably couldn't leave. She wanted to keep me close to her."**

**"Typical," Mr. D said. "That's how they usually get killed. Young man, are you bidding or not?"**

"Dionysus" Hera scolded harshly Mr.D looked at his mother and said "I haven't done it yet"

"and you better not in the future got that"

"yes mother"

**"What?" I asked.**

**He explained, impatiently, how you bid in pinochle, and so I did.**

**"I'm afraid there's too much to tell," Chiron said. "I'm afraid our usual orientation film won't be sufficient."**

"He didn't see the orientation film wow no wonder he didn't know anything."

"Yeah and that film was awesome" nico stated

**"Orientation film?" I asked.**

**"No," Chiron decided. "Well, Percy. You know your friend Grover is a satyr. You know-" he pointed to the horn in the shoe box- "that you have killed the Minotaur. No small feat, either, lad. What you may not know is that great powers are at work in your life. Gods- the forces you call the Greek gods- are very much alive."**

**I stared at the others around the table.**

**I waited for somebody to yell, ****_Not! _****But all I got was Mr. D yelling, "Oh, a royal marriage. Trick! Trick!" He cackled as he tallied up his points.**

Hestia looked at the book in sympathy "it had to be a lot to take in"

**"Mr. D," Grover asked timidly, "if you're not going to eat it, could I have your Diet Coke can?"**

**"Eh? Oh, all right."**

**Grover bit a huge shard out of the empty aluminum can and chewed it mournfully.**

**"Wait," I told Chiron. "You're telling me there's such a thing as god."**

Sally laughed ruffling her son's hair. Percy smiled up at her with his crooked little grin.

**"Well, now," Chiron said. "God- capital ****_G_****, God. That's a different matter altogether. We shan't deal with the metaphysical."**

**"Metaphysical? But you were just talking about-"**

**"Ah, gods, plural, as in, great beings that control the forces of nature and human endeavors: the immortal gods of Olympus. That's a smaller matter."**

"Smaller?" Zeus questioned Demeter giggled and continued to read

**"Smaller?"**

Zeus blushed as the others laughed.

**"Yes, quite. The gods we discussed in Latin class."**

**"Zeus," I said. "Hera. Apollo. You mean them."**

"Ha he mentioned me I'm so cool!" Apollo stated proudly

"I find it funny that he mentioned me but not his father" Zeus said and Poseidon rolled his eyes at his brother.

**And there it was again, distant thunder on a cloud less day.**

**"Young man," said Mr. D, "I would really be less casual about throwing those names around, if I were you."**

**"But they're stories," I said. "They're- myths, to explain lightning and the seasons and stuff. They're what people believed before there was science."**

"Oh here we go" Thalia whispered sighing

**"Science!" Mr. D scoffed. "And tell me, Perseus Jackson"-I flinched when he said my real name, which I never told anybody- "what will people think of your 'science' two thousand years from now?" Mr. D continued. "Hmm? They will call it primitive mumbo jumbo. That's what. Oh, I love mortals- they have absolutely no sense of perspective. They think they've come ****_so-o-o _****far. And have they, Chiron? Look at this boy and tell me."**

**I wasn't liking Mr. D much, but there was something about the way he called me mortal, as if... he wasn't. It was enough to put a lump in my throat, to suggest why Grover was dutifully minding his cards, chewing his soda can, and keeping his mouth shut.**

**"Percy," Chiron said, "you may choose to believe or not, but the fact is that ****_immortal _****means immortal. Can you imagine that for a moment, never dying? Never fading? Existing, just as you are, for all time?"**

"I would go for it" Hercules stated

"me too" said Jason

"I'm already immortal" Thalia said but she was focused on the book she wondered what Percy's first thoughts on immortality were.

**I was about to answer, off the top of my head, that it sounded like a pretty good deal, **

"Wow so he would have accepted it at first I wondered what changed his mind besides Annabeth" nico wondered quietly. Hazel caught it though and wondered what he meant.

**but the tone of Chiron's voice made me hesitate.**

"He has that effect on people" Thalia said

**You mean, whether people believed in you or not," I said.**

**"Exactly," Chiron agreed. "If you were a god, how would you like being called a myth, an old story to explain lightning? What if I told you, Perseus Jackson, that some day people would call ****_you _****a myth, just created to explain how little boys can get over losing their mothers?"**

"Oh low blow Chiron" nico stated shaking his head.

**My heart pounded. He was trying to make me angry for some reason, but I wasn't going to let him. I said, "I wouldn't like it. But I don't believe in gods."**

**"Oh, you'd better," Mr. D murmured. "Before one of them incinerates you."**

**Grover said, "P-please, sir. He's just lost his mother. He's in shock."**

**"A lucky thing, too," Mr. D grumbled, playing a card. "Bad enough I'm confined to this miserable job, working with boys who don't even believe.'"**

**He waved his hand and a goblet appeared on the table, as if the sunlight had bent, momentarily, and woven the air into glass. The goblet filled itself with red wine.**

Zeus glared at Mr.D who sunk down in his chair and said quickly "I'm sure it was an accident"

"I'm sure" Zeus grumbled

**My jaw dropped, but Chiron hardly looked up.**

**"Mr. D," he warned, "your restrictions."**

**Mr. D looked at the wine and feigned surprise.**

**"Dear me." He looked at the sky and yelled, "Old habits! Sorry!"**

"See" Mr.D stated Zeus rolled his eyes at his son

**More thunder.**

**Mr. D waved his hand again, and the wineglass changed into a fresh can of Diet Coke. He sighed unhappily, popped the top of the soda, and went back to his card game.**

**Chiron winked at me. "Mr. D offended his father a while back, took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits."**

**"A wood nymph," I repeated, still staring at the Diet Coke can like it was from outer space.**

Thalia laughed "I don't blame him."

**"Yes," Mr. D confessed. "Father loves to punish me. The first time, Prohibition. Ghastly! Absolutely horrid ten years! The second time- well, she really was pretty, and I couldn't stay away- the second time, he sent me here. Half-Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you. 'Be a better influence,' he told me. 'Work with youths rather than tearing them down.' Ha.' Absolutely unfair."**

"Yeah for us" nico and Thalia stated

**Mr. D sounded about six years old, like a pouting little kid.**

**"And ..." I stammered, "your father is ..."**

**_"Di immortales, _****Chiron," Mr. D said. "I thought you taught this boy the basics. My father is Zeus, of course."**

**I ran through D names from Greek mythology. Wine. The skin of a tiger. The satyrs that all seemed to work here. The way Grover cringed, as if Mr. D were his master.**

**"You're Dionysus," I said. "The god of wine."**

"And the names again really boy" Artemis sighed

**Mr. D rolled his eyes. "What do they say, these days, Grover? Do the children say, 'Well, duh!'?"**

**"Y-yes, Mr. D."**

**"Then, well, duh! Percy Jackson. Did you think I was Aphrodite, perhaps?"**

"Holy sh…"

"NICO!" sally scolded

"sorry Mrs.J, but Mr.D actually got his name right it's a miracle."

"It's really that big of a deal?"

"well Percy and Mr.D are always at each other the whole name thing is just one thing they fight about"

"Percy fights with gods" Orion asked looking shocked Thalia and nico nodded "yeah Percy doesn't exactly have self-preservation."

**"You're a god."**

**"Yes, child."**

**"A god. You."**

"Like I said no self-preservation" the heroes of old looked shocked at the way Percy would address a god but then they thought of how Percy had just stood up to Artemis I guess he didn't change much.

**He turned to look at me straight on, and I saw a kind of purplish fire in his eyes, a hint that this whiny, plump little man was only showing me the tiniest bit of his true nature. I saw visions of grape vines choking unbelievers to death, drunken warriors insane with battle lust, sailors screaming as their hands turned to flippers, their faces elongating into dolphin snouts. I knew that if I pushed him, Mr. D would show me worse things. He would plant a disease in my brain that would leave me wearing a strait-jacket in a rubber room for the rest of my life.**

The heroes shuddered and looked at Mr. d who was smiling smugly.

**"Would you like to test me, child?" he said quietly.**

**"No. No, sir."**

"That didn't last long" Thalia snorted and Poseidon groaned why couldn't his son be a little bit more like his mother and less like him

**The fire died a little. He turned back to his card game. "I believe I win."**

Mr.D. sat up a bit in his seat had he really won against the old centaur

**"Not quite, Mr. D," Chiron said. He set down a straight, tallied the points, and said, "The game goes to me."**

He sat back down disappointed and conjured himself up a wine magazine to sulk behind

**I thought Mr. D was going to vaporize Chiron right out of his wheelchair, but he just sighed through his nose, as if he were used to being beaten by the Latin teacher.**

"Yup hasn't won a game yet" Thalia said laughing hazel smiled these gods were so laid back maybe it was because they were in their Greek form

**He got up, and Grover rose, too. "I'm tired," Mr. D said. "I believe I'll take a nap before the sing-along tonight. But first, Grover, we need to talk, ****_again, _****about your less-than-perfect performance on this assignment." Grover's face beaded with sweat. "Y-yes, sir." Mr. D turned to me. "Cabin eleven, Percy Jackson. And mind your manners."**

"He remembered his name again" nico said shocked

**He swept into the farmhouse, Grover following miserably.**

**"Will Grover be okay?" I asked Chiron.**

**Chiron nodded, though he looked a bit troubled. "Old Dionysus isn't really mad. He just hates his job. He's been ... ah, grounded,**

"Oooh" Percy said "you got grounded" Mr. tossed a glare at Percy who just giggled and went back to playing with his stuffed toy.

** I guess you would say, and he can't stand waiting another century before he's allowed to go back to Olympus."**

**"Mount Olympus," I said. "You're telling me there really is a palace there?"**

Hazels head jerked up and she looked interested after all she knew they were in Olympus now but she had no clue what part of the country they were in that was another unfair thing the Greeks got to know about Olympus but the romans couldn't

**"Well now, there's Mount Olympus in Greece. And then there's the home of the gods, the convergence point of their powers, which did indeed used to be on Mount Olympus. It's still called Mount Olympus, out of respect to the old ways, but the palace moves, Percy, just as the gods do."**

**"You mean the Greek gods are here? Like ... in ****_America_****?"**

**"Well, certainly. The gods move with the heart of the West."**

"The what?" Hercules asked the three heroes shrugged

**"The what?"**

And then snickered as Hercules turned red

**"Come now, Percy. What you call 'Western civilization.' Do you think it's just an abstract concept? No, it's a living force. A collective consciousness that has burned bright for thousands of years. The gods are part of it. You might even say they are the source of it, or at least, they are tied so tightly to it that they couldn't possibly fade, not unless all of Western civilization were obliterated. The fire started in Greece. Then, as you well know- or as I hope you know, since you passed my course- the heart of the fire moved to Rome, and so did the gods. Oh, different names, perhaps- Jupiter for Zeus, Venus for Aphrodite, and so on- but the same forces, the same gods."**

The heroes of old nodded in understanding

**"And then they died."**

"Wow he's super slow" Hercules laughed "didn't he just meet a god" Thalia glared at him but she had nothing to say back it had been really dumb of Percy

**"Died? No. Did the West die? The gods simply moved, to Germany, to France, to Spain, for a while. Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there. They spent several centuries in England. All you need to do is look at the architecture.**

**People do not forget the gods. Every place they've ruled, for the last three thousand years, you can see them in paintings, in statues, on the most important buildings. And yes, Percy, of course they are now in your United States. Look at your symbol, the eagle of Zeus. Look at the statue of Prometheus in Rockefeller Center, the Greek facades of your government buildings in Washington. I defy you to find any American city where the Olympians are not prominently displayed in multiple places. Like it or not- and believe me, plenty of people weren't very fond of Rome,**

"Hey" Jason and hazel shouted together

** either- America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West. And so Olympus is here. And we are here."**

**It was all too much, especially the fact that ****_I _****seemed to be included in Chiron's ****_we, _****as if I were part of some club.**

"I wouldn't exactly call it a club but close enough" Hestia said gently a smile on her face

**"Who are you, Chiron? Who ... who am I?"**

"Your Percy Jackson you're the coolest goddamn kid in the whole entire world" nico stated he looked at the other heroes "no" he said "really none of you have seen a very potter musical or sequel" everyone just stared at him and nico huffed Demeter shook her head at the odd boy perhaps he needed some cereal and storing that thought away began to read

**Chiron smiled. He shifted his weight as if he were going to get up out of his wheelchair, but I knew that was impossible. He was paralyzed from the waist down.**

Thalia shook her head her cousin was such an idiot but then she reminded herself he didn't get to see the orientation film and so would be more slow than normal

**"Who are you?" he mused. "Well, that's the question we all want answered, isn't it? But for now, we should get you a bunk in cabin eleven. There will be new friends to 'meet. And plenty of time for lessons tomorrow. Besides, there will be smores at the campfire tonight, and I simply adore chocolate."**

"More like addicted to chocolate" Thalia said and nico laughed in agreement

**And then he did rise from his wheelchair. But there was something odd about the way he did it. His blanket fell away from his legs, but the legs didn't move. His waist kept getting longer, rising above his belt. At first, I thought he was wearing very long, white velvet underwear, **

The room filled with chuckles and smiles many of the gods looked at the little boy and thought what an odd imagination

**but as he kept rising out of the chair, taller than any man, I realized that the velvet underwear wasn't underwear; it was the front of an animal, muscle and sinew under coarse white fur. And the wheelchair wasn't a chair. It was some kind of container, an enormous box on wheels, and it must've been magic, because there's no way it could've held all of him. A leg came out, long and knobby-kneed, with a huge polished hoof. Then another front leg, then hindquarters, and then the box was empty, nothing but a metal shell with a couple of fake human legs attached.**

"That's kind of creepy" hazel said

**I stared at the horse who had just sprung from the wheelchair: a huge white stallion. But where its neck should be was the upper body of my Latin teacher, smoothly grafted to the horse's trunk.**

**"What a relief," the centaur said. "I'd been cooped up in there so long, my fetlocks had fallen asleep. Now, come, Percy Jackson. Let's meet the other campers."**

"And that's the end of that chapter" Demeter said

"I want to read! Let me read!" Apollo volunteered

"you can read tomorrow Apollo its nearly 10:00 and we should all be getting to sleep" Apollo pouted then looked at Hermes and shrugged "fine" and with that he disappeared

-Well that's the end of this chapter please review thanks everyone for your patience


	7. Chapter 7

AN: ya two chapters one day this an in between chapter let me know what you think thanks to all my reviewers so far

All the other gods left as well, except the big three they turned and gestured to their children. Hades led nico and hazel down the hallway and turned at the first door "here's your rooms, Hera told me to tell you to be up and in the throne room by 8 in the morning" Nico groaned and Hazel shook her head at him then turned and bowed to hades "thanks father" nico followed suit and hades smiled at the two of them. Then he turned to nico "Nico where's Bianca" nico got a bit pale but quickly replied "I don't know but I'm sure if she were meant to be here she would be" hades nodded at that and left. Nico sighed and Hazel patted him on the back and together they walked into their room. Inside was a living room area adorned with black furniture and white marble coffee tables and flat screen TV, there were two doors on the back wall one labeled Nico and the other Hazel nico wished hazel good night and went into his room it was awesome! The walls were made of black obsidian and the bed had a black comforter on it this room also held a TV as well as multiple gaming systems nico smiled as he looked around his room then yawned he'd play around tomorrow, tonight he was exhausted. Hazels room was beautiful she thought the walls were made out of black obsidian as well but the ceiling sparkled with jewels upon jewels so when she looked at them they looked like multicolored stars her room was also equipped with a TV and gaming consoles she smiled and hoped into bed staring at the beautiful ceiling as she drifted off to sleep.

Zeus led his children down farther passing hades and his children to the second door he looked down at his children "well here you are" he said a bit awkwardly Thalia smiled and bowed "thanks dad" Jason, Perseus, and Hercules did the same and Zeus smiled back then said "oh Hera told me to tell you to be in the throne room at 8" before disappearing. "So I guess we should go in" Thalia said and pushed open the door "wow" Thalia breathed out the walls were all white marble but the ceiling was painted so it looked like they were looking up at the night sky the stars all twinkled and Thalia smiled it was beautiful this view reminded her of Zoë the furniture was all plushy and white like clouds and they had a plasma television. At the back of the room were two doors one labeled girls and one boys. Thalia said a quick goodnight and went into her room. It was like a copy of the living room with white plush furniture a TV and a sky ceiling she laid down in bed and watched the stars every now and then a shooting star would flash across the sky. In the boys room each hero claimed a bed Jason flew up to the bed that was hanging from the ceiling it was like a hammock and he laid down and fell asleep the other two deposited themselves in the remaining beds and fell asleep as well. None of them wanted to talk to each other fearing it would just end in awkward silence.

Poseidon led his children and sally to the last door and led them inside sally gasped the walls were painted with a beach scene the waves lapped at the beach and the night sky was twinkling with stars it was beautiful and calming. The furniture was made of wood with comfortable cushions resting on it and the whole room smelled clean and fresh with a hint of saltwater. Again at the back of the room were two doors one said sally the other boys. Poseidon smiled at his sons and at sally and his future son who was fast asleep in her arms. "Sally do you mind if I have a word with you" sally nodded and Orion stepped forward "I can take Percy if you want" she looked down at her boy "are you sure"

"yeah I'll just put him in bed" she nodded and thanked Orion and Theseus. Orion took little Percy and they disappeared into their room leaving Sally and Poseidon alone. Poseidon turned to Sally "Sally there's something you must know concerning Gabe" sally stayed quiet waiting "Sally he's hitting Percy" sally took a step back and let out a squeak her eyes filled with tears as she grasped onto the wood of the furniture she shook her head one part of her didn't want to believe it after all she was with Gabe to protect Percy and to admit that it was doing more harm than good was difficult. Another part of her knew it was true but she didn't want to believe it he seemed to hear her thoughts because he hugged her "it's not your fault sally, Percy was hiding it from you to keep you safe" this just made sally cry harder "I'm supposed to protect him not the other way around. I was just trying to keep him with me as long as possible and now I know he was just getting hurt" Poseidon held her close then sally broke away and wiped her tears away and eyes flashing she vowed that Gabe was going to get it when she got back no one touched her son after all she had to be strong for Percy "sally I need to know did he hit you too" sally looked down at the floor and Poseidon's eyes narrowed how could his future self-let this happen "don't worry sally I will change this, we will stop this sally nodded and Poseidon smiled "there's not much we can do now however so try to get some sleep" sally nodded and walked to her room "oh sally Hera told me to tell you to be in the throne room at 8" sally nodded she looked toward the boys room she wanted to go in and hug Percy but he had been trying to hide it from her that's why Poseidon told her away from him so she let the boy sleep." Her room was like the living room with a soft bed that had soft sea blue blankets she fell asleep thinking of Percy and what she was going to do. Poseidon walked to the boys room and knocked Orion opened the door and let Poseidon in he smiled and walked in the boys room was the same as sally's except there were two beds with soft sea blue sheets and one little bed that was in a boat it was like those race car beds but instead it was a boat and snuggled in the covers was Percy fast asleep his stuffed animal snuggled to his side a small string of drool on the side of his mouth Poseidon chuckled and bent down brushing Percy's hair aside on his forehead gently then he stood up and turned to his two other sons smiling "goodnight boys Hera said throne room at 8" Orion and Theseus groaned and Poseidon laughed "my thoughts exactly" he walked to the door and with one last smile he was gone. Orion and Theseus looked at each other and sighed before going to their respective beds the sounds of waves lulling them to sleep.

The end just kidding the next chapters coming soon hopefully in the next week. also oh my gosh the mark of athena was amazing I read it in under 2 hours it was awesome sorry just had to gush about it and how sad I am that I have to wait a whole year to read the next one seriously what a crazy cliff hanger.


	8. Chapter 8

Another chapter down I want to thank everyone for all your wonderful review they really give me motivation to keep writing. Ok so on with the next story.

DISCLAIMER: I am not rick riordan therefore I own nothing

Throne room 8:15

"Where are they" Hera tapped her fingers against her throne impatiently.

"relax dear I'm sure their coming" Zeus said trying to calm his wife.

"It would be Poseidon's children that are late" hades said and Poseidon rolled his eyes at his brother. Just then the doors opened and Theseus and Orion walked in "what took you so long and where's the boy and his mother" Hera asked

"that's why we were late we were looking for them we woke up this morning and Percy was gone and so was sally we looked around this whole place but we can't find anyone" just then there was a small flash and a piece of paper descended from the ceiling Poseidon caught it and read aloud.

Dear everyone

Sorry about the panic attack we gave you. We have returned young Percy and his mother to their times because to Percy's can't be in the same time field for an extended period of time it would screw up the whole time line so they had to go. Anyway please continue reading

The fates

Theseus and Orion let out sighs and Orion shook his head "they could have given us a heads up no joke" Theseus said as they made their way to the couch and took a seat on the floor as Perseus and Hercules had taken the couch. "Who's…"Demeter started but Apollo interrupted her "I am" he said snatching the book from her and sitting in his throne

"wow Apollo I'd never thought I'd see the day that you would be excited to read a book."

Apollo stuck out his tongue at his sister "I like this book Percy's thoughts are really entertaining" and with that thought he began to read.

**I BECOME SUPREME LORD OF THE BATHROOM**

Everyone looked confused hazel looked toward Thalia and nico who both shrugged "I wasn't here for this Thalia said me neither said nico."

**Once I got over the fact that my Latin teacher was a horse,**

"Can you imagine Chiron's face if he read this" Thalia started snickering nico laughed with her smiling at the mental image.

**we had a nice tour, though I was careful not to walk behind him. I'd done pooper-scooper patrol in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade a few times, and, I'm sorry, I did not trust Chiron's back end the way I trusted his front.**

Apollo and Hermes were shaking with laughter along with the rest of the demigods some of the other gods were just smiling amused.

**We passed the volleyball pit. Several of the campers nudged each other. One pointed to the minotaur horn I was carrying. Another said, "That's ****_him_****."**

**Most of the campers were older than me. Their satyr friends were bigger than Grover, all of them trotting around in orange CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirts, with nothing else to cover their bare shaggy hindquarters. I wasn't normally shy, but the way they stared at me made me uncomfortable. I felt like they were expecting me to do a flip or something.**

"That would have been epic" nico stated smiling Artemis and thalia rolled their eyes boys they thought

**I looked back at the farmhouse. It was a lot bigger than I'd realized—four stories tall, sky blue with white trim, like an upscale seaside resort. I was checking out the brass eagle weather vane on top when something caught my eye, a shadow in the uppermost window of the attic gable. Something had moved the curtain, just for a second, and I got the distinct impression I was being watched.**

Apollo looked shocked "my oracle moved!" he looked at the sleeping Percy with new interest if the oracle was interested him he must be something special.

**"What's up there?" I asked Chiron.**

**He looked where I was pointing, and his smile faded. "Just the attic."**

**"Somebody lives there?"**

**"No," he said with finality. "Not a single living thing."**

"Well he didn't lie" thalia stated and Apollo pouted "my poor poor oracle" hades shifted slightly but no one noticed.

**I got the feeling he was being truthful. But I was also sure something had moved that curtain.**

**"Come along, Percy," Chiron said, his lighthearted tone now a little forced. "Lots to see."**

**We walked through the strawberry fields, where campers were picking bushels of berries while a satyr played a tune on a reed pipe.**

"It's hard to believe that the fauns…I mean the satyrs at your camp actually do something" hazel stated

**Chiron told me the camp grew a nice crop for export to New York restaurants and Mount Olympus. "It pays our expenses," he explained. "And the strawberries take almost no effort."**

**He said Mr. D had this effect on fruit-bearing plants: they just went crazy when he was around. It worked best with wine grapes, but Mr. D was restricted from growing those, so they grew strawberries instead.**

"Couldn't he grow normal grapes" Jason Asked?

"Too much temptation" thalia replied

**I watched the satyr playing his pipe. His music was causing lines of bugs to leave the strawberry patch in every direction, like refugees fleeing a fire. I wondered if Grover could work that kind of magic with music.**

**I wondered if he was still inside the farmhouse, getting chewed out by Mr. D.**

"Poor Grover he doesn't deserve that" thalia said sadly knowing how much Grover used to lack self confidence

**"Grover won't get in too much trouble, will he?" I asked Chiron. "I mean ... he was a good protector. Really."**

"Aww" the goddesses cooed except Artemis although she looked a bit shocked

**Chiron sighed. He shed his tweed jacket and draped it over his horses back like a saddle. "Grover has big dreams, Percy. Perhaps bigger than are reasonable.**

**To reach his goal, he must first demonstrate great courage by succeeding as a keeper, finding a new camper and bringing him safely to Half-Blood Hill."**

**"But he did that!"**

Artemis nodded it was nice that the boy was standing up for his friend most heroes would have taken all the credit

**"I might agree with you," Chiron said. "But it is not my place to judge. Dionysus and the Council of Cloven Elders must decide. I'm afraid they might not see this assignment as a success. After all, Grover lost you in New York. Then there's the unfortunate ... ah ... fate of your mother. And the fact that Grover was unconscious when you dragged him over the property line. The council might question whether this shows any courage on Grover's part."**

"Grover's the bravest satyr there is" thalia said

**I wanted to protest. None of what happened was Grover's fault. I also felt really, really guilty. If I hadn't given Grover the slip at the bus station, he might not have gotten in trouble.**

"At least he admits his mistakes" Athena said

**"He'll get a second chance, won't he?"**

"That was his second chance" thalia sighed Jason shot a look at his sister but he knew better to ask this time

**Chiron winced. "I'm afraid that ****_was _****Grover's second chance, Percy. The council was not anxious to give him another, either, after what happened the first time, five years ago. Olympus knows, I advised him to wait longer before trying again. He's still so small for his age..."**

**"How old is he?"**

**"Oh, twenty-eight."**

**"What! And he's in sixth grade?"**

**"Satyrs mature half as fast as humans, Percy. Grover has been the equivalent of a middle school student for the past six years."**

**"That's horrible."**

"Yeah imagine having to go to middle school for six years all those tests" nico shuddered and Athena shook her head tests weren't that bad

**"Quite," Chiron agreed. "At any rate, Grover is a late bloomer, even by satyr standards, and not yet very accomplished at woodland magic. Alas, he was anxious to pursue his dream. Perhaps now he will find some other career..."**

"It's a good thing he didn't or we would've never have found pan"

Hermes perked up "you found pan"

Nico nodded but didn't say anything more about it

**"That's not fair," I said. "What happened the first time? Was it really so bad?"**

Thalia winced "it was… but it wasn't Grover's fault it was my choice."

**Chiron looked away quickly. "Let's move along, shall we?"**

"Like we said earlier Chiron isn't exactly the best subject changer"

**But I wasn't quite ready to let the subject drop. Something had occurred to me when Chiron talked about my mother's fate, as if he were intentionally avoiding the word ****_death. _****The beginnings of an idea—a tiny, hopeful fire—started forming in my mind.**

Athena looked toward the unconscious boy he couldn't be that stupid could he

**"Chiron," I said. "If the gods and Olympus and all that are real ..."**

**"Yes, child?"**

**"Does that mean the Underworld is real, too?"**

Everyone turned to stare incredulously at the boy and nico thalia face palmed Theseus looked at Orion "our brothers crazy" Orion just nodded

**Chiron's expression darkened.**

**"Yes, child." He paused, as if choosing his words care fully. "There is a place where spirits go after death. But for now ... until we know more ... I would urge you to put that out of your mind."**

"That's not going to work"

**"What do you mean, 'until we know more'?"**

**"Come, Percy. Let's see the woods."**

Thalia shook her head fondly remembering Chiron

**As we got closer, I realized how huge the forest was. It took up at least a quarter of the valley, with trees so tall and thick, you could imagine nobody had been in there since the Native Americans.**

**Chiron said, "The woods are stocked, if you care to try your luck, but go armed."**

**"Stocked with what?" I asked. "Armed with what?"**

"Chiron is being a bit vague it's no wonder Percy was so confused"

**"You'll see. Capture the flag is Friday night. Do you have your own sword and shield?"**

"Yup I carry around a sword and shield just in case something like this ever happens" nico stated sarcastically causing a few of the others to chuckle

**"My own—?"**

**"No," Chiron said. "I don't suppose you do. I think a size five will do. I'll visit the armory later."**

**I wanted to ask what kind of summer camp had an armory, but there was too much else to think about, so the tour continued. We saw the archery range, the canoeing lake, the stables (which Chiron didn't seem to like very much),**

"No really I wonder why that could be"

**the javelin range, the sing-along amphitheater, and the arena where Chiron said they held sword and spear fights.**

**"Sword and spear fights?" I asked.**

"Those are so fun" thalia said smirking thinking about her weapons.

**"Cabin challenges and all that," he explained. "Not lethal. Usually.**

**Oh, yes, and there's the mess hall."**

**Chiron pointed to an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea. There were a dozen stone picnic tables. No roof. No walls.**

**"What do you do when it rains?" I asked.**

"Good question" hazel asked

**Chiron looked at me as if I'd gone a little weird.**

"Why it's a good question"

**"We still have to eat, don't we?" I decided to drop the subject.**

Hazel decided to drop it as well it had to mention it eventually

**Finally, he showed me the cabins. There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. And they were without doubt the most bizarre collection of buildings I'd ever seen.**

**Except for the fact that each had a large brass number above the door (odds on the left side, evens on the right), they looked absolutely nothing alike. Number nine had smokestacks, like a tiny factory. **

Hephaestus smiled at being the first cabin named. Jason smiled too thinking of Leo.

**Number four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made out of real grass.**

Demeter beamed and both nico and hades pretended to gag Demeter glared at both of them as they laughed and thalia smiled it was always nice to see nico getting along with hades

**Seven seemed to be made of solid gold, which gleamed so much in the sunlight it was almost impossible to look at.**

"WOOOOO! I'm awesome" Apollo yelled out Artemis closed her eyes in frustration

**They all faced a commons area about the size of a soccer field, dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flower beds, and a couple of basketball hoops (which were more my speed).**

"Percy plays basketball" hazel questioned looking shocked

"Yup and he's not to shabby either" nico replied

**In the center of the field was a huge stone-lined firepit. Even though it was a warm afternoon, the hearth smoldered. A girl about nine years old was tending the flames, poking the coals with a stick.**

Hestia smiled "he noticed me"

"That's you" hazel questioned the goddess Hestia nodded "yes I tend the flames at the camp but it's very rare that a demigod notices me it hasn't happened in a few centuries" she said. Nico smiled realizing for the first time how happy he had made her when he talked to her.

**The pair of cabins at the head of the field, numbers one and two, looked like his-and-hers mausoleums, big white marble boxes with heavy columns in front. Cabin one was the biggest and bulkiest of the twelve. Its polished bronze doors shimmered like a hologram, so that from different angles lightning bolts seemed to streak across them.**

Zeus smiled proudly and thalia and Jason forced a smile out of respect even if they didn't exactly like the cabin. Zeus noticed and frowned he'd have to have a talk to them about what was wrong with his cabin

**Cabin two was more graceful somehow, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. The walls were carved with images of peacocks.**

Hera smiled and thankfully didn't notice the looks of distaste on the demigods faces

**"Zeus and Hera?" I guessed.**

**"Correct," Chiron said.**

**"Their cabins look empty."**

Zeus frowned and Hera smiled. Zeus was shocked normally his cabin was pretty full, and Hera was happy maybe that meant that Zeus had stopped cheating on her well besides those two exceptions she thought glaring at Jason and thalia

**"Several of the cabins are. That's true. No one ever stays in one or two."**

Zeus was even more confused what had happened that had made him stop having demigod children he glanced sideways at Hera and saw her smiling and sighed well at least she's happy

**Okay. So each cabin had a different god, like a mascot.**

Some of the gods looked offended while the rest looked slightly amused

**Twelve cabins for the twelve Olympians. But why would some be empty?**

**I stopped in front of the first cabin on the left, cabin three.**

"It's like your calling to him brother" Hestia said smiling to Poseidon who smiled back

**It wasn't high and mighty like cabin one, but long and low and solid. The outer walls were of rough gray stone studded with pieces of seashell and coral, as if the slabs had been hewn straight from the bottom of the ocean floor.**

"They are" Poseidon said smiling

**I peeked inside the open doorway and Chiron said, "Oh, I wouldn't do that!"**

**Before he could pull me back, I caught the salty scent of the interior, like the wind on the shore at Montauk. The interior walls glowed like abalone. There were six empty bunk beds with silk sheets turned down. But there was no sign anyone had ever slept there.**

Poseidon was also shocked he had no children either both him and Zeus looked at each other in confusion what was going on

**The place felt so sad and lonely, I was glad when Chiron put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Come along, Percy."**

**Most of the other cabins were crowded with campers.**

**Number five was bright red—a real nasty paint job, as if the color had been splashed on with buckets and fists.**

"My cabin" Ares stated proudly

**The roof was lined with barbed wire. A stuffed wild boar's head hung over the doorway, and its eyes seemed to follow me.**

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose and began whispering to Ares probably trying to get him to let her redecorate his cabin

**Inside I could see a bunch of mean-looking kids, both girls and boys, arm wrestling and arguing with each other while rock music blared.**

Ares looked away from Aphrodite and smiled proudly at the mention of his children

**The loudest was a girl maybe thirteen or fourteen. She wore a size XXXL CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirt under a camouflage jacket. She zeroed in on me and gave me an evil sneer. She reminded me of Nancy Bobofit, though the camper girl was much bigger and tougher looking, and her hair was long and stringy, and brown instead of red.**

"Clarisse" nico hazel and Jason all stated with distaste making Ares smile wider

**I kept walking, trying to stay clear of Chiron's hooves. "We haven't seen any other centaurs," I observed.**

"Ya! party ponies"

"Party ponies'" hazel questioned nico

"You'll see"

**"No," said Chiron sadly. "My kinsmen are a wild and barbaric folk, I'm afraid. You might encounter them in the wilderness, or at major sporting events. But you won't see any here."**

**"You said your name was Chiron. Are you really ..."**

**He smiled down at me. ****_"The _****Chiron from the stories? Trainer of Hercules and all that? Yes, Percy, I am."**

**"But, shouldn't you be dead?"**

Thalia face palmed "no tact"

**Chiron paused, as if the question intrigued him. "I honestly don't know about ****_should _****be. The truth is, I ****_can't _****be dead. You see, eons ago the gods granted my wish. I could continue the work I loved. I could be a teacher of heroes as long as humanity needed me. I gained much from that wish ... and I gave up much. But I'm still here, so I can only assume I'm still needed."**

"I don't think there will ever come a time where he's not needed" Perseus stated the other heroes of old nodded they held Chiron in high respect

**I thought about being a teacher for three thousand years. It wouldn't have made my Top Ten Things to Wish For list.**

**"Doesn't it ever get boring?"**

**"No, no," he said. "Horribly depressing, at times, but never boring."**

**"Why depressing?"**

"Again with the no tact"

**Chiron seemed to turn hard of hearing again.**

**"Oh, look," he said. "Annabeth is waiting for us."**

**The blond girl**

"Annabeth would judo flip him if she knew he referred to her as the blonde girl"

**I'd met at the Big House was reading a book in front of the last cabin on the left, number eleven.**

"My cabin" Hermes said happily

**When we reached her, she looked me over critically, like she was still thinking about how much I drooled.**

The demigods all snickered as well as a few gods namely Apollo and Hermes

**I tried to see what she was reading, but I couldn't make out the title. I thought my dyslexia was acting up. Then I realized the title wasn't even English. The letters looked Greek to me. I mean, literally Greek. There were pictures of temples and statues and different kinds of columns, like those in an architecture book.**

Thalia smiled fondly

**"Annabeth," Chiron said, "I have masters' archery class at noon. Would you take Percy from here?"**

**"Yes, sir."**

**"Cabin eleven," Chiron told me, gesturing toward the doorway. "Make yourself at home."**

**Out of all the cabins, eleven looked the most like a regular old summer camp cabin, with the emphasis on ****_old._**

"Hey!" Hermes said looking offended

**The threshold was worn down, the brown paint peeling.**

"Ok maybe I should update it a bit" Hermes said sheepishly

** Over the doorway was one of those doctor's symbols, a winged pole with two snakes wrapped around it. What did they call it... ?**

"A caduceus" Hermes said

**A caduceus.**

"Wow Percy actually knew something who'd of thought"

**Inside, it was packed with people, both boys and girls, way more than the number of bunk beds. Sleeping bags were spread all over on the floor. It looked like a gym where the Red Cross had set up an evacuation center.**

Hermes glared at the other gods "claim your children" the other gods looked a bit sheepish and you could see a few of them trying to discreetly snap their fingers to claim their children hazel looked angry at this frank had waited forever to be claimed and all it took was snapping fingers Jason just looked confused "it doesn't look like that now" he whispered to thalia "what happened?"

"Percy happened" was all thalia would say which really annoyed him

**Chiron didn't go in. The door was too low for him. But when the campers saw him they all stood and bowed respectfully.**

The heroes of old nodded in approval

**"Well, then," Chiron said. "Good luck, Percy. I'll see you at dinner."**

**He galloped away toward the archery range.**

**I stood in the doorway, looking at the kids. They weren't bowing anymore. They were staring at me, sizing me up. I knew this routine. I'd gone through it at enough schools.**

"how many new schools has he been to" Athena asked incredulously?

"um..." nico counted in his head "let's see he's a sophomore in high school so 9 in 10 years"

Athena turned pale how was that even possible she thought

**"Well?" Annabeth prompted. "Go on."**

**So naturally I tripped coming in the door and made a total fool of myself.**

"Naturally" thalia laughed

**There were some snickers from the campers, but none of them said anything.**

**Annabeth announced, "Percy Jackson, meet cabin eleven."**

**"Regular or undetermined?" somebody asked.**

**I didn't know what to say, but Annabeth said, "Undetermined."**

**Everybody groaned.**

The gods shifted in their seats guiltily

**A guy who was a little older than the rest came forward.**

**"Now, now, campers. That's what we're here for. Welcome, Percy. You can have that spot on the floor, right over there."**

"Well he seems nice" hazel said happily until she noticed her brothers face her smile fell "what is it?" nico just shook his head.

**The guy was about nineteen, and he looked pretty cool. He was tall and muscular, with short-cropped sandy hair and a friendly smile. He wore an orange tank top, cutoffs, sandals, and a leather necklace with five different-colored clay beads. The only thing unsettling about his appearance was a thick white scar that ran from just beneath his right eye to his jaw, like an old knife slash.**

Both thalia and nico had dark looks on their faces and hazel wondered why the guy sounded pretty nice. Jason on the other hand was incredibly interested he'd heard mentions of Luke but no one seemed to want to explain so finally he'd get to figure out who this guy was

**"This is Luke," Annabeth said, and her voice sounded different somehow. I glanced over and could've sworn she was blushing.**

"Ooh a love triangle this just keeps getting better and better" Aphrodite stated Athena glared at her but Aphrodite pretended not to notice

**She saw me looking, and her expression hardened again. "He's your counselor for now."**

**"For now?" I asked.**

**"You're undetermined," Luke explained patiently. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers."**

**I looked at the tiny section of floor they'd given me. I had nothing to put there to mark it as my own, no luggage, no clothes, no sleeping bag. Just the Minotaur's horn. I thought about setting that down, but then I remembered that Hermes was also the god of thieves.**

Hermes snapped his fingers "dang that would have been a great souvenir."

**I looked around at the campers' faces, some sullen and suspicious, some grinning stupidly,**

"Undetermined" thalia stated

** some eyeing me as if they were waiting for a chance to pick my pockets.**

Hermes smiled proudly "those are my children"

**"How long will I be here?" I asked.**

**"Good question," Luke said. "Until you're determined."**

**"How long will that take?"**

**The campers all laughed.**

The gods again looked guilty and hazel glowered they should look guilty she thought then she noticed that nico and hazel were completely calm and she got even more confused she was about to ask but then stopped herself they would only give her another cryptic answer and it was starting to get on her nerves

**"Come on," Annabeth told me. "I'll show you the volleyball court."**

**"I've already seen it."**

**"Come on." She grabbed my wrist and dragged me outside.**

Thalia and nico smiled

**I could hear the kids of cabin eleven laughing behind me.**

**When we were a few feet away, Annabeth said, "Jackson, you have to do better than that."**

**"What?"**

**She rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath, "I can't believe I thought you were the one."**

"Eep" Aphrodite squealed

**"What's your problem?" I was getting angry now. "All I know is, I kill some bull guy—"**

**"Don't talk like that!" Annabeth told me. "You know how many kids at this camp wish they'd had your chance?"**

"Ah annabeth back when she was young and naïve" thalia said

**"To get killed?"**

**"To fight the Minotaur! What do you think we train for?"**

**I shook my head. "Look, if the thing I fought really was ****_the _****Minotaur, the same one in the stories ..."**

**"Yes."**

**"Then there's only one."**

**"Yes."**

**"And he died, like, a gajillion years ago, right? Theseus killed him in the labyrinth.**

Theseus smiled proudly not only because he was known for it but also because it made him happy for some strange reason that his brother who didn't seem to know all that much about mythology actually knew of him

** So ..."**

**"Monsters don't die, Percy. They can be killed. But they don't die."**

**"Oh, thanks. That clears it up."**

Nico smiled "Percy and his sarcasm got to love it"

**"They don't have souls, like you and me. You can dispel them for a while, maybe even for a whole lifetime if you're lucky. But they are primal forces. Chiron calls them arche types. Eventually, they re-form."**

**I thought about Mrs. Dodds. "You mean if I killed one, accidentally, with a sword—"**

**"The Fur ... I mean, your math teacher. That's right. She's still out there. You just made her very, very mad."**

"She's still mad at him" nico said smiling thalia shook her head at her cousin

**"How did you know about Mrs. Dodds?"**

**"You talk in your sleep."**

"Aww so she was watching him sleep how cute" Aphrodite cooed

Just ignore it Athena thought to herself its not as if my daughter would end up with the sea spawn

**"You almost called her something. A Fury? They're Hades' torturers, right?"**

**Annabeth glanced nervously at the ground, as if she expected it to open up and swallow her.**

**"You shouldn't call them by name, even here. We call them the Kindly Ones, if we have to speak of them at all."**

"You know I've always wondered… why kindly ones. Of all the names out there why choose that one I mean it makes no sense" Orion said the others shrugged but everyone was agreeing with him.

"They've been known by that for so long that I've forgotten the reason behind it but for whatever reasons it's what they prefer" hades said

**"Look, is there anything we ****_can _****say without it thundering?"**

"Whiny boy" Artemis muttered

**I sounded whiny, even to myself,**

Artemis looked up at Percy odd he actually owned up to it hmm…

**but right then I didn't care. "Why do I have to stay in cabin eleven, anyway? Why is everybody so crowded together? There are plenty of empty bunks right over there."**

**I pointed to the first few cabins, and Annabeth turned pale. "You don't just choose a cabin, Percy. It depends on who your parents are. Or ... your parent."**

**She stared at me, waiting for me to get it.**

**"My mom is Sally Jackson," I said.**

**"She works at the candy store in Grand Central Station. At least, she used to."**

**"I'm sorry about your mom, Percy. But that's not what I mean. I'm talking about your other parent. Your dad."**

**"He's dead. I never knew him."**

**Annabeth sighed. Clearly, she'd had this conversation before with other kids.**

"Plenty of times I'm sure" thalia said

**"Your father's not dead, Percy."**

**"How can you say that? You know him?"**

**"No, of course not."**

**"Then how can you say—"**

**"Because I know ****_you._** **You wouldn't be here if you weren't one of us."**

**"You don't know anything about me."**

**"No?" She raised an eyebrow. "I bet you moved around from school to school. I bet you were kicked out of a lot of them."**

**"How—"**

**"Diagnosed with dyslexia. Probably ADHD, too."**

"now she's just going to embarrass him"

**I tried to swallow my embarrassment. "What does that have to do with anything?"**

"see"

**"Taken together, it's almost a sure sign. The letters float off the page when you read, right? That's because your mind is hardwired for ancient Greek.**

**And the ADHD—you're impulsive, can't sit still in the classroom. That's your battle field reflexes. In a real fight, they'd keep you alive. As for the attention problems, that's because you see too much, Percy, not too little. Your senses are better than a regular mortal's. Of course the teachers want you medicated. Most of them are monsters. They don't want you seeing them for what they are."**

**"You sound like ... you went through the same thing?"**

**"Most of the kids here did. If you weren't like us, you couldn't have survived the Minotaur, much less the ambrosia and nectar."**

**"Ambrosia and nectar."**

"The best stuff in the world" Apollo said all the guys agreed and Artemis shook her head disgusted

**"The food and drink we were giving you to make you better. That stuff would've killed a normal kid. It would've turned your blood to fire and your bones to sand and you'd be dead. Face it. You're a half-blood."**

**A half-blood.**

**I was reeling with so many questions I didn't know where to start.**

**Then a husky voice yelled, "Well! A newbie!"**

"Queue Clarisse" thalia said sighing Jason perked up he wasn't exactly fond of Clarisse but if she could pound Percy he was all for it

**I looked over. The big girl from the ugly red cabin was sauntering toward us. She had three other girls behind her, all big and ugly and mean looking like her, all wearing camo jackets.**

**"Clarisse," Annabeth sighed. "Why don't you go polish your spear or something?"**

**"Sure, Miss Princess," the big girl said. "So I can run you through with it Friday night."**

"Yeah right Ares against Athena Athena's a sure win"

**_''Erre es korakas!"_** **Annabeth said, which I somehow under stood was Greek for 'Go to the crows!' though I had a feeling it was a worse curse than it sounded.**

"Way worse" nico said

** "You don't stand a chance."**

**"We'll pulverize you," Clarisse said, but her eye twitched. Perhaps she wasn't sure she could follow through on the threat.**

Ares smirked "yeah right my daughter will kill them"

**She turned toward me. "Who's this little runt?"**

**"Percy Jackson," Annabeth said, "meet Clarisse, Daughter of Ares."**

**I blinked. "Like ... the war god?"**

"He got a problem with that" Ares growled

**Clarisse sneered. "You got a problem with that?"**

"Like father like daughter" thalia whispered

**"No," I said, recovering my wits. "It explains the bad smell."**

Nico let out a snort but quickly silenced it when Ares glared at him Percy's were way scarier but nico unlike Percy valued his life

**Clarisse growled. "We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy."**

"So that's where that nickname started" nico mused

**"Percy."**

**"Whatever. Come on, I'll show you."**

**"Clarisse—" Annabeth tried to say.**

**"Stay out of it, wise girl."**

"I can't believe Percy got that from Clarisse" nico said

"In his defense it is really hard to find a decent nickname for a daughter of Athena" thalia said

**Annabeth looked pained, but she did stay out of it, and I didn't really want her help. I was the new kid. I had to earn my own rep.**

"Well at least he knows that much" Ares said gruffly

**I handed Annabeth my minotaur horn and got ready to fight, but before I knew it, Clarisse had me by the neck and was dragging me toward a cinder-block building that I knew immediately was the bathroom.**

Hazel grimaced at least the bathrooms at camp Jupiter were nice

**I was kicking and punching. I'd been in plenty of fights before, but this big girl Clarisse had hands like iron. She dragged me into the girls' bathroom. There was a line of toilets on one side and a line of shower stalls down the other. It smelled just like any public bathroom, and I was thinking—as much as I ****_could _****think with Clarisse ripping my hair out—that if this place belonged to the gods, they should've been able to afford classier johns.**

The whole room filled with laughter "how can he think these things at times like these first the minotaur and now this it's priceless" Apollo laughed Hermes agreed

**Clarisse's friends were all laughing, and I was trying to find the strength I'd used to fight the Minotaur, but it just wasn't there.**

**"Like he's 'Big Three' material," Clarisse said as she pushed me toward one of the toilets. "Yeah, right. Minotaur probably fell over laughing, he was so stupid looking."**

**Her friends snickered.**

"Percy will show you whose big three material" Poseidon stated Athena rolled her eyes "very mature kelp for brains"

"oh shut up owl head" Poseidon shot back and Apollo kept reading not wanting to deal with a fight

**Annabeth stood in the corner, watching through her fingers.**

Thalia snorted

**Clarisse bent me over on my knees and started pushing my head toward the toilet bowl. It reeked like rusted pipes and, well, like what goes into toilets.**

"eeeewwww". Aphrodite said looking disgusted

**I strained to keep my head up. I was looking at the scummy water, thinking, I will not go into that. I won't. Then something happened.**

Everyone leaned forward

**I felt a tug in the pit of my stomach.**

Poseidon smiled and leaned back Orion and Theseus grinned at each other

**I heard the plumbing rumble, the pipes shudder. Clarisse's grip on my hair loosened. Water shot out of the toilet, making an arc straight over my head, and the next thing I knew, I was sprawled on the bathroom tiles with Clarisse screaming behind me.**

Everyone was laughing and looking impressed Theseus and Orion high fived neither of them had used to much water power but that was mainly because they had a hard time controlling it so they stuck with just swords or in Orion's case archery but they were both proud, and a bit jealous if they were being honest, that Percy could.

**I turned just as water blasted out of the toilet again, hitting Clarisse straight in the face so hard it pushed her down onto her butt.**

Ares crossed his arms like he was pouting "stupid water powers" Poseidon grinned smugly.

**The water stayed on her like the spray from a fire hose, pushing her backward into a shower stall.**

**She struggled, gasping, and her friends started coming toward her.**

**But then the other toilets exploded, too, and six more streams of toilet water blasted them back. The showers acted up, too, and together all the fixtures sprayed the camouflage girls right out of the bathroom, spinning them around like pieces of garbage being washed away.**

Ares glared at the book angrily.

Nico was laughing he had never heard this story before it was hilarious.

**As soon as they were out the door, I felt the tug in my gut lessen, and the water shut off as quickly as it had started.**

**The entire bathroom was flooded. Annabeth hadn't been spared.**

"Ooo that sucks" hazel said.

**She was dripping wet, but she hadn't been pushed out the door. She was standing in exactly the same place, staring at me in shock.**

"That's seems to be the general reaction to Percy when he uses his powers" thalia said

**I looked down and realized I was sitting in the only dry spot in the whole room. There was a circle of dry floor around me. I didn't have one drop of water on my clothes. Nothing.**

**I stood up, my legs shaky.**

**Annabeth said, "How did you ..."**

**"I don't know."**

**We walked to the door. Outside, Clarisse and her friends were sprawled in the mud, and a bunch of other campers had gathered around to gawk. Clarisse's hair was flattened across her face. Her camouflage jacket was sopping and she smelled like sewage. She gave me a look of absolute hatred. "You are dead, new boy. You are totally dead."**

"Ten bucks says he doesn't keep his mouth shut"

**I probably should have let it go, but I said, "You want to gargle with toilet water again, Clarisse? Close your mouth."**

"See"

"No one disagreed with you nico"

**Her friends had to hold her back. They dragged her toward cabin five, while the other campers made way to avoid her flailing feet.**

**Annabeth stared at me. I couldn't tell whether she was just grossed out or angry at me for dousing her.**

**"What?" I demanded. "What are you thinking?"**

**"I'm thinking," she said, "that I want you on my team for capture the flag."**

Thalia smiled "great we get to hear about his first game of capture the flag"

"And that's the end of that chapter whose next" Apollo stated holding up the book

"I'll read" Hephaestus said taking the book.

Another chapter done and in less time than I expected anyway sorry to disappoint but Percy won't wake up yet but don't worry it will be soon. Please review they really do make my day and help me write faster.


	9. Chapter 9

Hey everyone I'm back. Thank you for all your lovely reviews don t worry Percy will wake up soon not in this chapter, but very soon understand that I'm trying to give everyone who hasn't time to read MOA because when Percy wakes up there will be spoilers so bear with me, but don't worry it will be very soon so you don't have to wait for long. Thanks guy now on with the story…

DISCAIMER: I own nothing

"**My Dinner Goes up in Smoke. **"Hephaestus read

"Wow that's actually a semi normal chapter title," Hermes commented.

"Ya I'm sort of disappointed" Apollo replied back

**Word of the bathroom incident spread immediately. Wherever I went, campers pointed at me and murmured something about toilet water. Or maybe they were just staring at Annabeth, who was still pretty much dripping wet.**

"Probably both. Word gets around fast at camp" thalia stated

**She showed me a few more places: the metal shop(where kids were forging their own swords), the arts-and-crafts room (where satyrs were sandblasting a giant marble statue of a goat-man),**

Hermes smiled then frowned, "Its pan not the goat man" he stated

"He knows now don't worry lord Hermes" nico said

**and the climbing wall, which actually consisted of two facing walls that shook violently, dropped boulders, sprayed lava, and clashed together if you didn't get to the top fast enough.**

"Not that it hurts him" nico grumbled having been singed on that wall multiple times.

"What do you mean? How could lava not hurt him?" Perseus asked.

"He's a son of Poseidon lava will hurt in large quantities but small amounts aren't bad" Theseus said Perseus nodded impressed

**Finally we returned to the canoeing lake, where the trail led back to the cabins.**

**"I've got training to do," Annabeth said flatly. "Dinner's at seven-thirty. Just follow your cabin to the mess hall."**

**"Annabeth, I'm sorry about the toilets."**

He apologized how odd for a hero or a male in general Artemis thought to herself in shock perhaps he is different.

**"Whatever."**

**"It wasn't my fault."**

"Never mind" Artemis huffed and she found herself oddly disappointed when in a normal circumstance she wouldn't have cared

**She looked at me skeptically, and I realized it ****_was _****my fault. I'd made water shoot out of the bathroom fixtures. I didn't understand how. But the toilets had responded to me. I had become one with the plumbing.**

The demigods (not including Jason and Hercules) as well as Apollo and Hermes burst into laughter a few of the other gods just wore amused smile.

**"You need to talk to the Oracle," Annabeth said.**

**"Who?"**

**"Not who. What.** **The Oracle. I'll ask Chiron."**

"Hey my oracle isn't a what!"

"Actually lord Apollo it kinda is"

"What's that mean she is a she not a what"

Nico went to open his mouth but thalia covered it "he means nothing" lord Apollo just shrugged and went on praising his oracle while thalia turned back to nico who was struggling to get free from her grasp and whispered into his ear "your dad hasn't cursed the oracle yet in this time she's still human so shut up" nico nodded and then "UGH! Gross nico" thalia took her hand away quickly and wiped it on her jeans nico just stuck out his tongue at her.

**I stared into the lake, wishing somebody would give me a straight answer for once.**

"Aww look uncle P he's looking at water for answers which is like looking to you who's his dad and stuff cool" Apollo blabbed Poseidon looked at Apollo weirdly, but then smiled and looked to Hephaestus to keep reading.

**I wasn't expecting anybody to be looking back at me from the bottom, so my heart skipped a beat when I noticed two teenage girls sitting cross-legged at the base of the pier, about twenty feet below.**

**They wore blue jeans and shimmering green T-shirts, and their brown hair floated loose around their shoulders as minnows darted in and out. They smiled and waved as if I were a long-lost friend.**

"In a way they sort of are" Poseidon said smiling "naiads get along great with my children"

"Gee I wonder why that could be" Athena replied sarcasm heavy in her voice Poseidon shot her a glare and Hephaestus kept reading to avoid an argument.

**I didn't know what else to do. I waved back.**

Thalia shook her head in disgust "naiads are terrible flirts" Artemis smile at thalia and nodded in agreement

**"Don't encourage them," Annabeth warned. "Naiads are terrible flirts."**

"Annabeth agrees with you thalia" nico stated happily

**"Naiads," I repeated, feeling completely overwhelmed. "That's it. I want to go home now."**

"Really after everything he just went through naiads are what makes him snap. Wow!" Jason stated rolling his eyes.

Thalias eyes blazed "next break me and you need to talk Jason" she said angrily. She had the last straw with her little brother acting like this.

**Annabeth frowned. "Don't you get it, Percy? You ****_are _****home. This is the only safe place on earth for kids like us."**

**"You mean, mentally disturbed kids?"**

"Is he aware he just called himself mentally disturbed" Athena asked with one eyebrow raised questionably thalia shrugged "it's Percy so who knows"

**"I mean ****_not human. _****Not totally human, anyway. Half-human."**

**"Half-human and half-what?"**

Nico groaned "seriously Perce I know your slow but come on"

**"I think you know."**

**I didn't want to admit it, but I was afraid I did. I felt a tingling in my limbs, a sensation I sometimes felt when my mom talked about my dad.**

**"God," I said. "Half-god."**

**Annabeth nodded. "Your father isn't dead, Percy. He's one of the Olympians."**

**"That's ... crazy."**

"Yup" nico deadpanned "completely insane"

"Off his rocker" thalia agreed

"Over the coo coos nest" Nico added

"Has a screw loose" thalia said a light smile on her face.

"Nuttso" hazel added in. Everyone looked at her "what?" she shrugged "I liked that word" nico and thalia burst into laughter at the look on her face.

**"Is it? What's the most common thing gods did in the old stories? They ran around falling in love with humans and having kids with them. Do you think they've changed their habits in the last few millennia?"**

"Nope hasn't changed one bit have you darling" Hera says in that sweet yet deadly tone Zeus just shifted uncomfortable and looked at Hephaestus who quickly began to read.

**"But those are just—" I almost said ****_myths _****again. Then I remembered Chiron's warning that in two thousand years, ****_I _****might be considered a myth.**

**"But if all the kids here are half-gods—"**

**"Demigods," Annabeth said. "That's the official term. Or half-bloods."**

"I like half-bloods better" nico stated

"Why" thalia asked nico shrugged and thalia rolled her eyes at him

**"Then who's your dad?"**

**Her hands tightened around the pier railing. I got the feeling I'd just trespassed on a sensitive subject.**

"He has a tendency to do that" thalia said

"Ya it's what causes him to get into so many fights"

**"My dad is a professor at West Point," she said. "I haven't seen him since I was very small. He teaches American history."**

Athena smiled well he sounds nice she thought happily

**"Who's your mom, then?"**

**"Cabin six."**

"He's not going to know who that is"

**"Meaning?"**

"See"

"No one said you were wrong" thalia stated

**Annabeth straightened. "Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle."**

Athena straightened up proudly and Poseidon stuck out his tongue in a gag motion minutes later he was attacked by a flock (AN: is it flock or peck or pack I can never remember) of owls

**Okay, I thought. Why not?**

"What's that supposed to mean"

"I'm sure it's not meant to be offensive" Hestia calmed Athena

**"And my dad?"**

**"Undetermined," Annabeth said, "like I told you before. Nobody knows."**

**"Except my mother. She knew."**

"Of course she did she's clear sighted" thalia stated

**"Maybe not, Percy. Gods don't always reveal their identities."**

"Wouldn't have had too"

**"My dad would have. He loved her."**

"Again…."

"We get it" nico and hazel stated together interrupting thalia

**Annabeth gave me a cautious look. She didn't want to burst my bubble.**

**"Maybe you're right. Maybe he'll send a sign. That's the only way to know for sure: your father has to send you a sign claiming you as his son. Sometimes it happens."**

**"You mean sometimes it doesn't?"**

The gods shifted guiltily and the demigods looked at their feet or at the walls or ceiling

**Annabeth ran her palm along the rail. "The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and they don't always ... Well, sometimes they don't care about us, Percy. They ignore us."**

"Do you really feel that way" Hestia asked sadly

"We used to" said thalia "but now it's getting better again" hazel wanted to ask what had happened but she held her tongue knowing they wouldn't tell her anyway Jason was feeling the same way

The heroes of old didn't understand the big fuss. In their time it was a blessing to not get claimed at times it meant they got to lead a semi normal life, but then it seemed a lot of things had changed. Now they had a camp for demigods and monsters seemed to hunt demigods more than demigods hunting monsters like they do in their time.

**"So I'm stuck here," I said. "That's it? For the rest of my life?"**

**"It depends," Annabeth said. "Some campers only stay the summer. If you're a child of Aphrodite or Demeter,** **you're probably not a real powerful force.**

"Excuse me" both goddesses stated looking highly offended hades however had snorted at that causing Demeter to glare at hades

**The monsters might ignore you, so you can get by with a few months of summer training and live in the mortal world the rest of the year. But for some of us, it's too dangerous to leave. We're year-rounders. In the mortal world, we attract monsters. They sense us. They come to challenge us. Most of the time, they'll ignore us until we're old enough to cause trouble—about ten or eleven years old, but after that, most demigods either make their way here, or they get killed off.**

The demigods winced at this

**A few manage to survive in the outside world and become famous. Believe me, if I told you the names, you'd know them. Some don't even realize they're demigods. But very, very few are like that."**

**"So monsters can't get in here?"**

**Annabeth shook her head. "Not unless they're intentionally stocked in the woods or specially summoned by somebody on the inside."**

**"Why would anybody want to summon a monster?"**

"To kill someone" nico stated bluntly

**"Practice fights. Practical jokes."**

"Or that too" he said making thalia snort and hazel giggle.

**"Practical jokes?"**

"We'd get into so much trouble if we did that" hazel stated and Jason nodded in agreement

"Well the Greeks aren't that disciplined we are allowed to do more stuff, but most of us know not to cross the line"

"Most of you?"

"All camps have an idiot"

"Or an evil being working with the enemy" nico whispered Jason and hazel both shuddered picturing Octavian he would do that if it benefited him.

**"The point is, the borders are sealed to keep mortals and monsters out. From the outside, mortals look into the valley and see nothing unusual, just a strawberry farm."**

**"So ... you're a year-rounder?"**

**Annabeth nodded. From under the collar of her T-shirt she pulled a leather necklace with five clay beads of different colors. It was just like Luke's, except Annabeth's also had a big gold ring strung on it, like a college ring.**

**"I've been here since I was seven," she said. "Every August, on the last day of summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year. I've been here longer than most of the counselors, and they're all in college."**

**"Why did you come so young?"**

"Like I said he has a talent for bringing up touchy subjects"

**She twisted the ring on her necklace. "None of your business."**

Thalia sighed poor annabeth

**"Oh." I stood there for a minute in uncomfortable silence. "So ... I could just walk out of here right now if I wanted to?"**

"It would be suicide but sure go ahead Perry" Mr. D stated Poseidon glared at said camp director

**"It would be suicide, but you could, with Mr. D's or Chiron's permission. But they wouldn't give permission until the end of the summer session unless ..."**

**"Unless?"**

**"You were granted a quest. But that hardly ever happens. The last time …"**

**Her voice trailed off. I could tell from her tone that the last time hadn't gone well.**

Thalia winced she had a feeling that this was going to come up soon and she wasn't looking forward to it in the slightest

**"Back in the sick room," I said, "when you were feeding me that stuff—"**

**"Ambrosia."**

**"Yeah. You asked me something about the summer solstice."**

**Annabeth's shoulders tensed. "So you ****_do _****know something?"**

"He wishes" nico snorted

**"Well... no. Back at my old school, I overheard Grover and Chiron talking about it. Grover mentioned the summer solstice. He said something like we didn't have much time, because of the deadline. What did that mean?"**

the gods leaned forward in anticipation finally they'd get some answers

**She clenched her fists.**

**"I wish I knew. Chiron and the satyrs, they know, but they won't tell me. Something is wrong in Olympus, something pretty major. Last time I was there, everything seemed so ****_normal_****."**

"wow. Wait! You've been to Olympus that's so unfair. Why do Greeks get to go to Olympus and the romans not at all?" We don't even know where Olympus is located!" hazel said angrily

The gods shifted "it's just how it's always been" Athena stated "after all the Greeks were there first if you think about it" hazel glared at her feet be that as it may it still didn't make it fair.

**"You've been to Olympus?"**

"Oh no! hazel thinks like Percy" nico stated dramatically

**"Some of us year-rounders—Luke and Clarisse and I and a few others—we took a field trip during winter solstice. That's when the gods have their big annual council."**

**"But... how did you get there?"**

**"The Long Island Railroad, of course. You get off at Penn Station. Empire State Building, special elevator to the six hundredth floor." She looked at me like she was sure I must know this already**.

"She doesn't now that he didn't see the orientation video"

**"You ****_are _****a New Yorker, right?"**

**"Oh, sure." As far as I knew, there were only a hundred and two floors in the Empire State Building, but I decided not to point that out.**

"Good thing. She already thinks you're stupid Perce" nico said to the book

**"Right after we visited," Annabeth continued, "the weather got weird, as if the gods had started fighting. A couple of times since, I've overheard satyrs talking. The best I can figure out is that something important was stolen.**

All the gods looked at each other in confusion what could have been stolen that caused this big of an argument Athena bit her lip in concentration as she tried to figure out what could have been stolen

The demigods all looked shocked

**And if it isn't returned by summer solstice, there's going to be trouble. When you came, I was hoping ... I mean— Athena can get along with just about anybody, except for Ares. And of course she's got the rivalry with Poseidon.**

"Oh the irony" thalia said smirking

**But, I mean, aside from that, I thought we could work together. I thought you might know something."**

"You're asking the wrong person. Kelp heads kid is probably pretty brain dead" Athena stated.

**I shook my head. I wished I could help her,**

Aphrodite squealed "isn't that sweet"

**but I felt too hungry and tired and mentally overloaded to ask any more questions.**

"Boys" Artemis scoffed to herself

**"I've got to get a quest," Annabeth muttered to herself. "I'm ****_not _****too young. If they would just tell me the problem …"**

Athena shook her head at her daughter she was not being very wise right now although she was still young Athena reasoned

**I could smell barbecue smoke coming from somewhere nearby. Annabeth must've heard my stomach growl. She told me to go on, she'd catch me later. I left her on the pier, tracing her finger across the rail as if drawing a battle plan.**

Athena swelled with pride. She felt in her heart that this girl was special

**Back at cabin eleven, everybody was talking and horsing around, waiting for dinner. For the first time, I noticed that a lot of the campers had similar features: sharp noses, upturned eyebrows, mischievous smiles. They were the kind of kids that teachers would peg as troublemakers. Thankfully, nobody paid much attention to me as I walked over to my spot on the floor and plopped down with my minotaur horn.**

**The counselor, Luke, came over. He had the Hermes family resemblance, too. It was marred by that scar on his right cheek, but his smile was intact.**

Thalia and nico grimaced

**"Found you a sleeping bag," he said. "And here, I stole you some toiletries from the camp store."**

**I couldn't tell if he was kidding about the stealing part.**

"Of course not my children wouldn't lie about stealing" Hermes said

**I said, "Thanks."**

**"No prob." Luke sat next to me, pushed his back against the wall. "Tough first day?"**

**"I don't belong here," I said. "I don't even believe in gods."**

Mr. d rolled his eyes in frustration "what an idiot boy"

**"Yeah," he said. "That's how we all started. Once you start believing in them? It doesn't get any easier."**

The gods all frowned they were getting an uneasy feeling about this boy

**The bitterness in his voice surprised me, because Luke seemed like a pretty easygoing guy. He looked like he could handle just about anything.**

**"So your dad is Hermes?" I asked.**

Thalia winced and shook her head another touchy subject she thought

**He pulled a switchblade out of his back pocket, and for a second I thought he was going to gut me,**

"I bet he wanted to" nico said angrily

"No not yet" thalia whispered back darkly "he would try to get Percy on his side first" both of them glared coldly at the book. The gods and other demigods wondered what they were whispering about.

**but he just scraped the mud off the sole of his sandal. "Yeah. Hermes."**

**"The wing-footed messenger guy."**

Hermes pouted at the name and Apollo snickered at him

**"That's him. Messengers. Medicine. Travelers, merchants, thieves. Anybody who uses the roads. That's why you're here, enjoying cabin eleven's hospitality. Hermes isn't picky about who he sponsors."**

Hermes frowned Luke should be proud of him after all he was one of the only gods who claimed his children and he tried to be nice to all his children he was just so busy it was hard to remember sometimes

**I figured Luke didn't mean to call me a nobody. He just had a lot on his mind.**

"Nope he meant it" thalia said to herself

**"You ever meet your dad?" I asked.**

**"Once."**

Hermes perked up see he visited

**I waited, thinking that if he wanted to tell me, he'd tell me. Apparently, he didn't.**

Hermes frowned his happiness from earlier gone what had happened

**I wondered if the story had anything to do with how he got his scar.**

"Of course not. I would never hurt one of my children" Hermes said feeling slightly offended.

**Luke looked up and managed a smile. "Don't worry about it, Percy. The campers here, they're mostly good people. After all, we're extended family, right? We take care of each other."**

"I like it better when Percy says it" thalia said sadly thinking of all the promises and false words Luke had ever told her. Percy's words had always made her feel warm and comforted, she looked to the unconscious Percy she had missed him so much he was the only one who she could tell her troubles to she had too much pride to tell anyone else, but with Percy it was easy she didn't feel like she had to worry and now with this whole war and the gods spazzing out she needed him more than ever.

**He seemed to understand how lost I felt, and I was grateful for that, because an older guy like him—even if he was a counselor—should've steered clear of an uncool middle-schooler like me. But Luke had welcomed me into the cabin. He'd even stolen me some toiletries, which was the nicest thing anybody had done for me all day.**

Thalia sighed Luke could seem so nice at time how could it have gone so wrong she almost felt that it was her fault maybe if she had been there for Luke if she had never been turned into a tree maybe then it would have turned out differently she shook he head now was not the time for those kind of thoughts

**I decided to ask him my last big question, the one that had been bothering me all afternoon. "Clarisse, from Ares, was joking about me being 'Big Three' material. Then Annabeth ... twice, she said I might be 'the one.' She said I should talk to the Oracle. What was that all about?"**

**Luke folded his knife. "I hate prophecies."**

"So do we" everyone in the throne room said at once even Apollo? Although Apollo was the god of prophecies he still hated the things after all it was a great burden he could see the future but it was so clouded that he couldn't do anything to help or change what would happen it made him feel so useless.

**"What do you mean?"**

**His face twitched around the scar. "Let's just say I messed things up for everybody else. The last two years, ever since my trip to the Garden of the Hesperides went sour, Chiron hasn't allowed any more quests.**

"And then Percy got there and now there's nonstop quests" thalia said smiling

"Yeah I don't think Percy's ever spent a full summer at camp before" nico agreed wow hazel thought Percy's been on that many quests it was almost unheard of that one demigod went on so many quests in the roman camp

**Annabeth's been dying to get out into the world. She pestered Chiron so much he finally told her he already knew her fate. He'd had a prophecy from the Oracle. He wouldn't tell her the whole thing, but he said Annabeth wasn't destined to go on a quest yet. She had to wait until...somebody special came to the camp."**

**"Somebody special?"**

"Such a big ego" Artemis thought to herself scowling not realizing how wrong she was

**"Don't worry about it, kid," Luke said. "Annabeth wants to think every new camper who comes through here is the omen she's been waiting for. Now, come on, it's dinnertime."**

Thalia looked upset "how could he tell Percy that. It's really rude to annabeth"

"He's a boy dear it's only natural for them"

"Hey!" all the guys said and Apollo sighed he knew it was partly his fault she thought that. She had gotten really bad after the whole Orion thing, speaking of which he looked over at said hero who was staring at Artemis in shock. Apollo had a feeling that there was definitely going to be some conflict there this time he'd try to stay out of it.

Orion was shocked Artemis had never liked boys, but she hadn't been this hateful in his time and he wondered what had happened to change her.

**The moment he said it, a horn blew in the distance. Somehow, I knew it was a conch shell, even though I'd never heard one before.**

"Fishy powers" nico said happily hazel smiled at nico it was weird how he acted now when he was with his cousin. He acted more his age while with her he tried to act so tough it made her sad was it because she wasn't Bianca his original sister she looked down sadly maybe shed get up the courage to ask him

**Luke yelled, "Eleven, fall in!"**

**The whole cabin, about twenty of us, filed into the commons yard. We lined up in order of seniority, so of course I was dead last. Campers came from the other cabins, too, except for the three empty cabins at the end, and cabin eight, which had looked normal in the daytime, but was now starting to glow silver as the sun went down.**

Thalia and Artemis smiled happily.

**We marched up the hill to the mess hall pavilion. Satyrs joined us from the meadow. Naiads emerged from the canoeing lake. A few other girls came out of the woods— and when I say out of the woods, I mean ****_straight _****out of the woods. I saw one girl, about nine or ten years old, melt from the side of a maple tree and come skipping up the hill.**

**In all, there were maybe a hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs, and a dozen assorted wood nymphs and naiads.**

"wow that's a really small camp" hazel said in shock

"Ya it's because camp half-blood doesn't have legacies like we do" Jason replied back to her she nodded how weird she thought.

**At the pavilion, torches blazed around the marble columns. A central fire burned in a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each cabin had its own table, covered in white cloth trimmed in purple. Four of the tables were empty, but cabin eleven's was way overcrowded. I had to squeeze on to the edge of a bench with half my butt hanging off.**

"You guys have to sit at assigned tables that really sucks" hazel said.

"Ya" nico added "I think we should change that rule it's no fun if you've got no siblings" the gods heard this and nodded it did make a lot of sense.

**I saw Grover sitting at table twelve with Mr. D, a few satyrs, and a couple of plump blond boys who looked just like Mr. D. Chiron stood to one side, the picnic table being way too small for a centaur.**

**Annabeth sat at table six with a bunch of serious-looking athletic kids, all with her gray eyes and honey-blond hair.**

Athena smiled her future children.

**Clarisse sat behind me at Ares's table. She'd apparently gotten over being hosed down, because she was laughing and belching right alongside her friends.**

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose a bit at the mention of belching but Ares was smiling "that's my girl" he said smiling proudly and Aphrodite smiled at him at least he cared about his kids even if he came off a bit scary at times she knew he would never really hurt any of his children.

**Finally, Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor of the pavilion, and everybody fell silent. He raised a glass. "To the gods!"**

"Yeah to us" Apollo cheered and Hermes fist bumped him all the other gods shook their heads at the two you would think they were twins rather than Artemis and Apollo

**Everybody else raised their glasses. "To the gods!"**

**Wood nymphs came forward with platters of food: grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, fresh bread, and yes, barbecue! My glass was empty, but Luke said, "Speak to it. Whatever you want—nonalcoholic, of course."**

Mr.D grumbled to himself

**I said, "Cherry Coke."**

**The glass filled with sparkling caramel liquid.**

**Then I had an idea. "****_Blue _****Cherry Coke."**

Thalia and nico smiled. Hazel smiled as well "he did that at the roman camp too it was really weird at the time but I get it now"

"He remembered that" thalia said smiling

"Kind of he couldn't remember why he just told me it made him happy"

"That's Percy the little things like blue food make him happy" thalia stated Hestia smiled that was good after all the little things were sometimes the most important

**The soda turned a violent shade of cobalt.**

**I took a cautious sip. Perfect.**

**I drank a toast to my mother.**

"Look isn't he such a good son I wish my sons were that great" Hephaestus snorted and for once Ares agreed with him Hera just sat back in her throne and glared

**She's not gone, I told myself. Not permanently, anyway. She's in the Underworld. And if that's a real place, then someday...**

"No Percy don't do that your uncles not very nice when it comes to that sort of thing." Poseidon whispered to himself

**"Here you go, Percy," Luke said, handing me a platter of smoked brisket.**

**I loaded my plate and was about to take a big bite when I noticed everybody getting up, carrying their plates toward the fire in the center of the pavilion.**

Thalia and nico sighed "that's a relief" thalia said

**I wondered if they were going for dessert or something.**

**"Come on," Luke told me.**

**As I got closer, I saw that everyone was taking a portion of their meal and dropping it into the fire, the ripest straw berry, the juiciest slice of beef, the warmest, most buttery roll.**

**Luke murmured in my ear, "Burnt offerings for the gods. They like the smell."**

"Really" hazel asked hmm maybe she should tell the romans

"Yup it smells delicious" Apollo said drooling slightly

**"You're kidding."**

**His look warned me not to take this lightly, but I couldn't help wondering why an immortal, all-powerful being would like the smell of burning food.**

"It does sound ridiculous when you put it like that" Hermes said

**Luke approached the fire, bowed his head, and tossed in a cluster of fat red grapes. "Hermes."**

**I was next.**

**I wished I knew what god's name to say.**

Poseidon frowned why hadn't he claimed Percy yet normally he was really good about things like that but then things seemed really weird in this camp

**Finally, I made a silent plea. ****_Whoever you are, tell me. Please._**

"I will" … I hope Poseidon thought to himself

**I scraped a big slice of brisket into the flames.**

**When I caught a whiff of the smoke, I didn't gag.**

**It smelled nothing like burning food. It smelled of hot chocolate and fresh-baked brownies, hamburgers on the grill and wildflowers, and a hundred other good things that shouldn't have gone well together, but did. I could almost believe the gods could live off that smoke.**

The male gods drooled "why do you torture us like this Percy!" Apollo said all the goddesses rolled their eyes what idiots they thought

**When everybody had returned to their seats and finished eating their meals, Chiron pounded his hoof again for our attention.**

**Mr. D got up with a huge sigh. "Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats.**

Zeus raised an eyebrow and looked at his son Mr. d just smiled back in fake innocence

**Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels."**

**A bunch of ugly cheering rose from the Ares table.**

"Right on my cabins awesome" Ares said loudly and proudly

**"Personally," Mr. D continued, "I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Peter Johnson."**

Nico and thalia snorted "so this is what you meant by the name thing" hazel said and the two nodded

**Chiron murmured something.**

**"Er, Percy Jackson," Mr. D corrected. "That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on."**

Hestia smiled she loved the campfires there were always so happy and full of warmth.

**Everybody cheered. We all headed down toward the amphitheater, where Apollo's cabin led a sing-along.**

"Woo my cabin leads the sing along" Apollo cheered

Artemis snorted "yeah because no other cabin would" Apollo pouted slightly

**We sang camp songs about the gods and ate s'mores and joked around, and the funny thing was, I didn't feel that anyone was staring at me anymore. I felt that I was home.**

**Later in the evening, when the sparks from the campfire were curling into a starry sky, the conch horn blew again, and we all filed back to our cabins. I didn't realize how exhausted I was until I collapsed on my borrowed sleeping bag.**

**My fingers curled around the Minotaur's horn. I thought about my mom, but I had good thoughts: her smile, the bedtime stories she would read me when I was a kid, the way she would tell me not to let the bedbugs bite.**

The goddesses cooed except for Artemis although she was sporting a soft smile

**When I closed my eyes, I fell asleep instantly.**

**That was my first day at Camp Half-Blood.**

**I wish I'd known how briefly I would get to enjoy my new home.**

Poseidon paled a bit at those words. "That's the end who's next" Hephaestus said.

"I'll read" Aphrodite said taking the book from her husband.

Artemis let out a fake gasp "you can read" Aphrodite tossed a glare in artemis's direction and snapped her fingers and artemiss hair went from silky black to bleach blonde Artemis clenched her fist and her bow appeared she drew back an arrow "turn it back!"

Aphrodite smiled "I don't know arty I think it suits you" Artemis scowled and was about to let her arrow fly when Hera intervened

"girls we have guests here so let's behave" although she spoke kindly you could definatly hear a threat in her voice. Aphrodite sighed and snapped her fingers and artemis's hair changed and artemis's bow disappeared. Both girls sat back in their thrones. All the demigods were staring in shock. Nico laughed quietly "that was kinda fun" thalia threw him a disbelieving look and he shrugged.

That's it for this chapter please review. :)


	10. Chapter 10

Hello! Thanks for all your reviews! I don't want to be rude, but I've been getting a few comments on my grammar, yes I know it's not the best and I'm sorry I've been told to get a beta but I've tried that before and their slow and I like to post a chapter quickly once I've written it so I'm not going to do that either. If you really find that you can't read this story because the grammar and you're really anal about that sort of stuff then I'm sorry don't read it. I'm writing because I have a story to tell and trust me when I say my grammar is nowhere near as bad as some other stories. If you have complaints then complain.

Now onto another important note, I've had a request that Percy, when he wakes up, go through a pain curse which is whatever pain he goes through in the book happens to Percy. I'm okay with this idea but I want to know what you think so I'm going to hold a vote so tell me what you think in the reviews. The vote will end by the time I put up the next chapter so maybe in a week please vote!

And also I'm not sure about this but I'm debating bringing in frank after all he is a distant relative of Poseidon but I'm just not sure so I would like your opinions Thanks! Now then on with the story.

DISCLAIMER: oops almost forgot I don't own any of this …now on with the story.

"**We Capture a Flag," **said Aphrodite.

"I really miss the crazy titles" Apollo pouted. Artemis rolled her eyes at her brother.

**The next few days I settled into a routine that felt almost normal, if you don't count the fact that I was getting lessons from satyrs, nymphs, and a centaur.**

"But that's completely normal" nico stated

"To us" hazel added and the two of them smiled

**Each morning I took Ancient Greek from Annabeth, and we talked about the gods and goddesses in the present tense, which was kind of weird.**

Zeus couldn't help but chuckle slightly at that and he wasn't the only one his two elder brothers laughed too and then looked at each other weirdly Hestia smiled already the books were bringing them together she silently thanked the fates.

** I discovered Annabeth was right about my dyslexia: Ancient Greek wasn't that hard for me to read. At least, no harder than English. After a couple of mornings, I could stumble through a few lines of Homer without too much headache.**

**The rest of the day, I'd rotate through outdoor activities, looking for something I was good at. Chiron tried to teach me archery,**

Thalia and nico laughed loudly "what's so funny" hazel asked confused "archery's a good skill"

Orion silently agreed with her.

"I'm not saying anything bad about archery it's just Percy and archery don't mix at all" Thalia stated.

"And that's an understatement" nico said.

"He can't be that bad" Orion stated

**but we found out pretty quick I wasn't any good with a bow and arrow. He didn't complain, even when he had to desnag a stray arrow out of his tail.**

"And from what I heard Chiron was standing behind him" Thalia stated snickering

Orion paled and looked at his little brother how was that possible "I stand corrected"

**Foot racing? No good either. The wood-nymph instructors left me in the dust. They told me not to worry about it. They'd had centuries of practice running away from lovesick gods. But still, it was a little humiliating to be slower than a tree.**

"Well when you put it that way it kinda is" all the demigods frowned at this, after all none of them had ever beaten the wood nymphs.

**And wrestling? Forget it. Every time I got on the mat, Clarisse would pulverize me.**

**"There's more where that came from, punk," she'd mumble in my ear.**

"That's right you show him! The little punk." Ares stated proudly

**The only thing I really excelled at was canoeing, and that wasn't the kind of heroic skill people expected to see from the kid who had beaten the Minotaur.**

"How is it that no one figured it out at all." Nico questioned

"Well with the pact of the big three I don't think they even saw it as a possibility" Thalia whispered back hazel and Jason both heard and looked confused pact of the big three what the heck was that

**I knew the senior campers and counselors were watching me, trying to decide who my dad was, but they weren't having an easy time of it. I wasn't as strong as the Ares kids,**

Ares smiled proudly

** or as good at archery as the Apollo kids.**

"My kids are the best"

"Second best" Artemis coughed

"What was that" Apollo glared

Artemis just smirked back and gestured for Aphrodite to read she glowered at Artemis but consented

**I didn't have Hephaestus's skill with metalwork**

Hephaestus smiled thinking of his children and Aphrodite scoffed Hephaestus never cared about her he preferred the company of his machines to her and she had never loved him it had been an arranged marriage and people told her off for not loving him

** or—gods forbid— Dionysus's way with vine plants.**

Dionysus agreed with the boy on that statement

** Luke told me I might be a child of Hermes, a kind of jack-of-all-trades, master of none. But I got the feeling he was just trying to make me feel better. He really didn't know what to make of me either.**

"Percy people still don't know what to make of you"

**Despite all that, I liked camp. I got used to the morning fog over the beach, the smell of hot strawberry fields in the afternoon, even the weird noises of monsters in the woods at night. I would eat dinner with cabin eleven, scrape part of my meal into the fire, and try to feel some connection to my real dad. Nothing came. Just that warm feeling I'd always had, like the memory of his smile. I tried not to think too much about my mom, but I kept wondering: if gods and monsters were real, if all this magical stuff was possible, surely there was some way to save her, to bring her back...**

"No Percy don't…" Poseidon stated hades just looked thoughtful he wondered what this boy could do it might be an interesting encounter he thought and smirked

**I started to understand Luke's bitterness and how he seemed to resent his father, Hermes. **

Hermes flinched slightly wondering what it was he could have done Apollo gave him a pat on the back and Hermes vowed to fix this once he figured out what had happened he would make sure that he changed it

**So okay, maybe gods had important things to do. But couldn't they call once in a while, or thunder, or something? Dionysus could make Diet Coke appear out of thin air. Why couldn't my dad, whoever he was, make a phone appear?**

The gods looked guilty at the accusations. Percy had a point. It was odd they thought they had never been guilt tripped before it was a new feeling

**Thursday afternoon, three days after I'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood, I had my first sword-fighting lesson. Everybody from cabin eleven gathered in the big circular arena, where Luke would be our instructor.**

Thalia and Nico smiled "I'd always wondered how his first sword lesson went" Thalia said

"Me too" nico stated and they both leaned forward in anticipation.

**We started with basic stabbing and slashing, using some straw-stuffed dummies in Greek armor. I guess I did okay. At least, I understood what I was supposed to do and my reflexes were good.**

**The problem was, I couldn't find a blade that felt right in my hands. Either they were too heavy, or too light, or too long.**

Everyone looked to Ares and he stared back "what"

"Aren't you going to say something about sucking it up or something?" Hermes asked.

"I'm the god of war and weaponry I know the importance of a balanced sword. Yeah the punk should be able to fight with anything, but having a balanced sword may be what saves his life."

Athena stared at ares "impressive you actually said something smart"

"I'll kick your butt Athena"

"And that's the Ares we all know and hate" Apollo stated laughing Ares let out a growl and Apollo put up his hands in surrender

**Luke tried his best to fix me up, but he agreed that none of the practice blades seemed to work for me.**

**We moved on to dueling in pairs. Luke announced he would be my partner, since this was my first time.**

"That sucks" Thalia said "Percy may be good but as a new comer Luke will kick his butt."

**"Good luck," one of the campers told me. "Luke's the best swordsman in the last three hundred years."**

**"Maybe he'll go easy on me," I said.**

Thalia snorted

**The camper snorted.**

**Luke showed me thrusts and parries and shield blocks the hard way. With every swipe, I got a little more battered and bruised. "Keep your guard up, Percy," he'd say, then whap me in the ribs with the flat of his blade. "No, not that far up!" ****_Whap! _****"Lunge!" ****_Whap! _****"Now, back!" ****_Whap!_**

"Does he have to be that rough" Hera said slightly concerned which was weird for her she normally didn't care about demigods, but she couldn't get little Percy out of her mind he was just so innocent and cute.

"Of course he's got to get used to being beaten up a bit"

Poseidon growled "if you recall he already is" he said angrily thinking about Gabe he was still not over the whole issue and although he could do nothing about it now as Gabe didn't exist yet he would definitely do something in the future.

"Didn't mean it like that" Ares said looking wearily at Poseidon.

**By the time he called a break, I was soaked in sweat. Everybody swarmed the drinks cooler. Luke poured ice water on his head, which looked like such a good idea, I did the same.**

Poseidon grinned as did Theseus and Orion, while both Thalia and Nico glowered they had both been on the receiving end after one of Percy's energy boosts, as they called it, and it was not fun

**Instantly, I felt better. Strength surged back into my arms. The sword didn't feel so awkward.**

**"Okay, everybody circle up!" Luke ordered. "If Percy doesn't mind, I want to give you a little demo."**

**Great, I thought. Let's all watch Percy get pounded.**

**The Hermes guys gathered around. They were suppressing smiles. I figured they'd been in my shoes before and couldn't wait to see how Luke used me for a punching bag. He told everybody he was going to demonstrate a disarming technique: how to twist the enemy's blade with the flat of your own sword so that he had no choice but to drop his weapon.**

**"This is difficult," he stressed. "I've had it used against me. No laughing at Percy, now. Most swordsmen have to work years to master this technique."**

"Ten bucks says Percy does it" nico said

"I'll take that, after all Percy may have an energy boost but he's still new and he doesn't have riptide yet so I highly doubt he'll be able to master it" thalia stated.

"I have faith in Percy's abilities" nico stated

"I'm with Thalia" Jason said

"I'm with Nico. I've seen Percy in action it's unreal even as a newbie I'd say he could do it" hazel said.

**He demonstrated the move on me in slow motion. Sure enough, the sword clattered out of my hand.**

**"Now in real time," he said, after I'd retrieved my weapon. "We keep sparring until one of us pulls it off. Ready, Percy?"**

**I nodded, and Luke came after me. Somehow, I kept him from getting a shot at the hilt of my sword. My senses opened up. I saw his attacks coming. I countered. I stepped forward and tried a thrust of my own. Luke deflected it easily, but I saw a change in his face. His eyes narrowed, and he started to press me with more force.**

Thalia bit her lip no way it wasn't possible Nico was smirking triumphantly

**The sword grew heavy in my hand. The balance wasn't right.**

Thalia smirked and Nico's grin faltered no way come on Percy don't let me down I want ten bucks he pleaded in his mind

**I knew it was only a matter of seconds before Luke took me down, so I figured, What the heck?**

**I tried the disarming maneuver.**

Both thalia and nico held their breath and crossed their fingers

**My blade hit the base of Luke's and I twisted, putting my whole weight into a downward thrust.**

**_Clang._**

**Luke's sword rattled against the stones.**

"Yes!" Nico cried out Thalia was in shock.

"Damn"

"Ha-ha pay up Thals" money was quickly exchanged hades was smirking as well.

"My kid's beat your kids" he said to Zeus. Zeus grumbled to himself Hera shook her head at hades and Zeus they act like such children.

**The tip of my blade was an inch from his undefended chest.**

**The other campers were silent.**

**I lowered my sword. "Um, sorry."**

Nico face palmed "epic moment and he apologizes. jeez what a weirdo!"

**For a moment, Luke was too stunned to speak.**

**"Sorry?" His scarred face broke into a grin. "By the gods, Percy, why are you sorry? Show me that again!"**

"He won't be able to" Thalia stated

"You don't think so?" hazel questioned

"It's Percy" was her only reply

**I didn't want to. The short burst of manic energy had completely abandoned me. But Luke insisted.**

**This time, there was no contest. The moment our swords connected, Luke hit my hilt and sent my weapon skidding across the floor.**

**After a long pause, somebody in the audience said, "Beginner's luck?"**

"See" Thalia said hazel just giggled Percy didn't change much he might be a bit more serious but all in all he's still a goof

**Luke wiped the sweat off his brow. He appraised at me with an entirely new interest. "Maybe," he said. "But I wonder what Percy could do with a balanced sword..."**

"Beat up gods and titans" nico got out before Thalia could silence him.

"What!" was echoed from the others even hazel was shocked. Ya she'd seen Percy kick a giants butt, but gods or a titans it seemed unreal.

"Um nothing forget I said anything" nico said the gods just stared at him he sighed "look it would give away the story just wait and find out"

The gods sat back in their thrones they couldn't argue with Nico's logic besides the fates had warned them about giving away the story. Still they couldn't help but stare at the sleeping boy with new fascination except for Poseidon who was close to hyperventilating why did it have to be his son.

**Friday afternoon, I was sitting with Grover at the lake, resting from a near-death experience on the climbing wall.**

"I thought you said the lava couldn't really hurt him?" Perseus questioned

"It won't. He probably just doesn't realize it yet after all he doesn't even know he is a son of Poseidon" Theseus answered

**Grover had scampered to the top like a mountain goat, but the lava had almost gotten me. My shirt had smoking holes in it. The hairs had been singed off my forearms.**

"See it didn't actually burn him just singed a bit he was just being over dramatic" Theseus said

**We sat on the pier, watching the naiads do underwater basket-weaving, until I got up the nerve to ask Grover how his conversation had gone with Mr. D.**

**His face turned a sickly shade of yellow.**

Poor dear Hestia thought to herself

**"Fine," he said. "Just great."**

**"So your career's still on track?"**

**He glanced at me nervously. "Chiron t-told you I want a searcher's license?"**

**"Well... no." I had no idea what a searcher's license was, but it didn't seem like the right time to ask.**.

"Well at least he has some common sense" Thalia said

**"He just said you had big plans, you know ... and that you needed credit for completing a keeper's assignment. So did you get it?"**

**Grover looked down at the naiads. "Mr. D suspended judgment. He said I hadn't failed or succeeded with you yet, so our fates were still tied together. If you got a quest and I went along to protect you, and we both came back alive, then maybe he'd consider the job complete."**

"Wow that's actually really considerate of Mr. D all things considered" Thalia said

Mr. D ignored her why would he care about the satyr

**My spirits lifted. "Well, that's not so bad, right?"**

**_"Blaa-ha-ha!_** **He might as well have transferred me to stable-cleaning duty. The chances of you getting a quest... and even if you did, why would you want ****_me _****along?"**

"Because you're the bravest satyr ever" Thalia stated

**"Of course I'd want you along!"**

**Grover stared glumly into the water. "Basket-weaving ... Must be nice to have a useful skill."**

**I tried to reassure him that he had lots of talents, but that just made him look more miserable.**

"Ya trying to tell someone about their talents never cheers people up it just makes things worse"

** We talked about canoeing and swordplay for a while, then debated the pros and cons of the different gods. Finally, I asked him about the four empty cabins.**

Hades Zeus and Poseidon leaned forward now they would see why they had no children in this time period

**"Number eight, the silver one, belongs to Artemis," he said. "She vowed to be a maiden forever. So of course, no kids. The cabin is, you know, honorary. If she didn't have one, she'd be mad."**

"Of course I would. Its respectful" she stated

"And yet I don't have a cabin" hades said ruefully Zeus shifted slightly but said nothing.

**"Yeah, okay. But the other three, the ones at the end. Are those the Big Three?"**

**Grover tensed. We were getting close to a touchy subject. "No. One of them, number two, is Hera's," he said. "That's another honorary thing. She's the goddess of marriage, so of course she wouldn't go around having affairs with mortals.**

**That's her husband's job. **

Zeus grumbled and Hera glared at Zeus daring him to object Zeus stayed quiet

**When we say the Big Three, we mean the three powerful brothers, the sons of Kronos."**

**"Zeus, Poseidon, Hades."**

**"Right. You know. After the great battle with the Titans, they took over the world from their dad and drew lots to decide who got what."**

**"Zeus got the sky," I remembered. "Poseidon the sea, Hades the Underworld."**

**"Uh-huh."**

**"But Hades doesn't have a cabin here."**

Hades scowled he should have a cabin his children deserved to be treated better than that.

Nico frowned yes he had a cabin now thanks to Percy but he was still treated as an outcast not as much as before but still... he sighed he supposed that's how it will always be.

Hazel was looking down too she had more friends than Nico but not by much

**"No. He doesn't have a throne on Olympus, either. He sort of does his own thing down in the Underworld. If he did have a cabin here ..." Grover shuddered. "Well, it wouldn't be pleasant. Let's leave it at that."**

"Hey! My cabin is awesome thank you very much!" Nico stated

"The book just said you didn't have a cabin"

"Well perc…ow!" Nico yelled as Thalia shocked him

"You'll find out" Thalia said smiling Nico glared at her

**"But Zeus and Poseidon—they both had, like, a bazillion kids in the myths. Why are their cabins empty?"**

"Its how it should be" Hera sated although the other gods were with book Percy it was odd

**Grover shifted his hooves uncomfortably.**

**"About sixty years ago, after World War II, the Big Three agreed they wouldn't sire any more heroes.**

"Say what" Hermes said looking shocked he wasn't the only one all the gods were staring at the big three "that's quite an oath I wonder what made you do that"

"I think it's a wonderful idea" Hera stated

"Well it obviously didn't work now did it" Athena stated gesturing to the demigods. Thalia looked down after all she and Percy were technique the only ones who were not supposed to be born. Nico and hazel didn't count because they were from before the pact and Jason was roman so the weight of being a mistake was left to Percy and Thalia.

**Their children were just too powerful.**

"It has to be more than that after all that never stopped them before" Athena said thinking hard on what she was missing.

** They were affecting the course of human events too much, causing too much carnage. World War II, you know, that was basically a fight between the sons of Zeus and Poseidon on one side, and the sons of Hades on the other.**

"World War 2" Athena sighed "great. That's what we have to look forward too"

Ares looked excited while Zeus hades and Poseidon looked sheepish

** The winning side, Zeus and Poseidon,**

"Of course you were both against me" hades said sighing while Poseidon and Zeus shared a rare high five.

** made Hades swear an oath with them: no more affairs with mortal women.**

They made me swear but I'm the only one to keep it such irony hades thought as he looked at his two children wondering how they were alive

** They all swore on the River Styx."**

Athena frowned "no it has to be something more than just a war."

"Well if it was big enough perhaps" Hestia suggested

Athena shook her head "no there have been plenty of big wars in the past it has to be something more…but what" she continued to ponder this as Aphrodite continued reading

**Thunder boomed.**

**I said, "That's the most serious oath you can make."**

**Grover nodded.**

**"And the brothers kept their word—no kids?"**

"Nope" Hermes said with a smirk Poseidon and Zeus looked guilty but hades shook his head figures he'd be the only one to keep his oath

**Grover's face darkened. "Seventeen years ago, Zeus fell off the wagon.**

Hera glared at Zeus and Zeus grimaced this chapter must have something against him.

**There was this TV starlet with a big fluffy eighties hairdo—he just couldn't help himself. When their child was born, a little girl named Thalia .. .**

"Me" Thalia stated her voice dry at the mention of her mother. Jason however was ecstatic finally he found something out about his mom

** well, the River Styx is serious about promises. Zeus himself got off easy because he's immortal, but he brought a terrible fate on his daughter."**

Thalia flinched and Zeus looked at Thalia seriously and said "I'm sorry Thalia" Thalia looked shocked but then she smiled at her father. It was true Zeus was very strict but he was a good father Perseus smiled toward his sister although he had to admit he was a bit worried what had happened to her that had scarred her so much.

**"But that isn't fair.' It wasn't the little girl's fault."**

Thalia raised her eyebrows at the book "little girl?" she questioned looking slightly annoyed

**Grover hesitated. "Percy, children of the Big Three have powers greater than other half-bloods.**

All the demigods blushed at a few of the other gods, Ares, grumbled about power.

**They have a strong aura, a scent that attracts monsters. When Hades found out about the girl, he wasn't too happy about Zeus breaking his oath. Hades let the worst monsters out of Tartarus to torment Thalia.**

"You what!" Zeus thundered turning to glare at his brother,

Hades didn't back down "you broke the oath you forced me to make, of course I'd be angry"

"so confront me, leave my daughter out of this"

hades fists curled around his throne arms "What could I do to you I'm not even allowed on Olympus, besides the easiest way to hurt you is through the heart."

Zeus stood and hades did as well the demigods backed away from them, and took refuge behind a couch. Thalia had tears in her eyes from all the memories of her last stand resurfacing. Jason wasn't sure what to do to help his sister and Nico was so angry at his dad so he wasn't paying attention. Perseus sighed to himself he knew Hercules could care less especially if she was a hunter of Artemis, so he took it upon himself to comfort her. He wrapped his arms around his sister as all of them hid behind the couch to avoid the fight. Thalia stiffened at his touch but he just rubbed her back like did for his son and comforted her. She hugged him fiercely and although he was a bit shocked he smiled even if she was tough she was still young.

Meanwhile hades and Zeus were going at it yelling and throwing their powers around, and although they couldn't cause each other major damage because of the rules set by the fates they were still causing definite damage to the room and slight damage to each other. Finally Hestia had enough of this she summoned her roman form to her and stepped between the 2 "ENOUGH!" she yelled. The 2 gods stopped and stared at her. Vesta was glaring at each of them she turned to Zeus first "Calm down Hades hasn't done it yet besides can't you see this fighting is going nowhere so sit down and behave! And you!" she said turning to hades "What a terrible thing to say, yes Zeus broke the oath but that doesn't give you the right to hurt an innocent don't be cruel think of what father did to us before saying such things! now sit down" hades and Zeus obeyed her and sat down quietly both slightly ashamed. Hades more so than Zeus. Vesta and the rest of the gods quickly fixed up the room and returned to their seats the demi gods came out of hiding Thalia wiped her eyes and gave Perseus one more hug before going to sit on their couch. Perseus smiled at his sister. Aphrodite picked up the book and flipped to the page they had left off on and began to read. Vesta returned to Hestia and sighed it would take longer than a couple of chapters to make this family closer she thought to herself.

** A satyr was assigned to be her keeper when she was twelve, but there was nothing he could do.**

Thalia sighed "it was my choice" she told the book Nico didn't tease her instead he squeezed her hand letting her know that her 'little brother' was there for her. Jason was frowning he felt bad he just hadn't known how to react to her crying, he had never been good with crying girls.

**He tried to escort her here with a couple of other half-bloods she'd befriended. They almost made it. They got all the way to the top of that hill."**

**He pointed across the valley, to the pine tree where I'd fought the minotaur. "All three Kindly Ones were after them, along with a horde of hellhounds. They were about to be overrun when Thalia told her satyr to take the other two half-bloods to safety while she held off the monsters.**

Everyone stared at Thalia and she blushed slightly. Perseus smiled Thalia was a real hero

** She was wounded and tired, and she didn't want to live like a hunted animal. The satyr didn't want to leave her, but he couldn't change her mind, and he had to protect the others. So Thalia made her final stand alone, at the top of that hill.**

Zeus flinched and looked down his poor daughter then he looked at her how was she still here. The others were asking themselves the same question but the atmosphere was to tense at the moment to ask so they just listened as Aphrodite read

** As she died,**

**Zeus took pity on her. He turned her into that pine tree. Her spirit still helps protect the borders of the valley. That's why the hill is called Half-Blood Hill."**

"You're such a good girl" Hestia said smiling kindly at Thalia.

Thalia smiled in return "thank you lady Hestia"

**I stared at the pine in the distance.**

**The story made me feel hollow, and guilty too. A girl my age had sacrificed herself to save her friends. She had faced a whole army of monsters. Next to that, my victory over the Minotaur didn't seem like much.**

Thalia shook her head and laughed "Percy admires me! when he wakes up I'll never let him forget it" she said smiling

**I wondered, if I'd acted differently, could I have saved my mother?**

**"Grover," I said, "Have heroes really gone on quests to the Underworld?"**

**"Sometimes," he said. "Orpheus. Hercules. Houdini."**

**"And have they ever returned somebody from the dead?"**

**"No. Never. Orpheus came close... . Percy, you're not seriously thinking—"**

Thalia thought about it and how Percy's mother was alive right now was it possible that he had actually brought her back she didn't see how but this was Percy

**"No," I lied.**

Poseidon groaned he had been quiet during the whole Zeus hades fight because he'd figured his input would have made it worse and he didn't want to bring his son into it

**"I was just wondering. So ... a satyr is always assigned to guard a demigod?"**

**Grover studied me warily. I hadn't persuaded him that I'd really dropped the Underworld idea. "Not always. We go undercover to a lot of schools. We try to sniff out the half-bloods who have the makings of great heroes. If we find one with a very strong aura, like a child of the Big Three, we alert Chiron. He tries to keep an eye on them, since they could cause really huge problems."**

**"And you found me. Chiron said you thought I might be something special."**

Nico and Thalia smiled boy had Grover hit that nail on the head Percy was definitely special, not that either of them would say so out loud

**Grover looked as if I'd just led him into a trap. "I didn't... Oh, listen, don't think like that. If you ****_were_**—**you know—you'd never ****_ever _****be allowed a quest, and I'd never get my license. You're probably a child of Hermes. Or maybe even one of the minor gods, like Nemesis, the god of revenge. Don't worry, okay?"**

"Doesn't he mean goddess?"

"Eh she has the looks of a god" Aphrodite said with a wrinkled nose "no fashion sense at all"

**I got the idea he was reassuring himself more than me.**

**That night after dinner, there was a lot more excitement than usual.**

**At last, it was time for capture the flag.**

The new demigods cheered except hazel "what's that"

Jason smiled" its like war games" she nodded and smiled thinking of their last war games if Percy was anything like he was in their war games Athena's team should sure as hell win.

**When the plates were cleared away, the conch horn sounded and we all stood at our tables.**

**Campers yelled and cheered as Annabeth and two of her siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was about ten feet long, glistening gray, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree. From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and her buddies ran in with another banner, of identical size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head.**

**I turned to Luke and yelled over the noise, "Those are the flags?"**

"Wow that was an incredibly dumb question even for Percy standards" Thalia stated

**"Yeah."**

**"Ares and Athena always lead the teams?"**

**"Not always," he said. "But often."**

**"So, if another cabin captures one, what do you do— repaint the flag?"**

**He grinned. "You'll see. First we have to get one."**

**"Whose side are we on?"**

**He gave me a sly look, as if he knew something I didn't. The scar on his face made him look almost evil in the torchlight.**

Thalia and Nico glared knowing exactly what Luke was thinking

** "We've made a temporary alliance with Athena. Tonight, we get the flag from Ares. And ****_you _****are going to help."**

**The teams were announced. Athena had made an alliance with Apollo and Hermes, the two biggest cabins.**

"Woo!" Hermes and Apollo yelled

**Apparently, privileges had been traded—shower times, chore schedules, the best slots for activities—in order to win support.**

**Ares had allied themselves with everybody else: Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. From what I'd seen, Dionysus's kids were actually good athletes, but there were only two of them. Demeter's kids had the edge with nature skills and outdoor stuff but they weren't very aggressive. Aphrodite's sons and daughters I wasn't too worried about. They mostly sat out every activity and checked their reflections in the lake and did their hair and gossiped. Hephaestus's kids weren't pretty, and there were only four of them, but they were big and burly from working in the metal shop all day. They might be a problem.**

**That, of course, left Ares's cabin: a dozen of the biggest, ugliest, meanest kids on Long Island, or anywhere else on the planet.**

"Wow you guys seem greatly outnumbered" hazel said

"Ya it seems that way but they have the Athena cabin" Nico said

Athena smiled proudly and turned to hazel "Remember sometimes even brawn has to bow to wisdom" hazel nodded to the goddess, taking the words to heart.

**Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble.**

**"Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed.**

"No maiming our only rule is no killing." hazel said in disbelief

"Don't worry it's not like anyone listens to the no maiming rule anyways" Thalia said smiling she was looking forward to hearing about Percy's first game of capture the flag

** I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"**

**He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, oxhide shields coated in metal.**

**"Whoa," I said. "We're really supposed to use these?"**

Thalia and Nico snorted "aww little naive Percy" Nico said sighing

Thalia flicked him on the head "I could say the same about you" Nico blushed pink and hazel smiled she couldn't wait to hear about that

**Luke looked at me as if I were crazy. "Unless you want to get skewered by your friends in cabin five. Here—Chiron thought these would fit. You'll be on border patrol."**

"Ugh" Thalia said "border patrol sucks"

**My shield was the size of an NBA backboard, with a big caduceus in the middle. It weighed about a million pounds. I could have snowboarded on it fine, but I hoped nobody seriously expected me to run fast. My helmet, like all the helmets on Athena's side, had a blue horsehair plume on top. Ares and their allies had red plumes.**

Hazel snorted "what I'd give to see a picture of that" she said laughing as she thought of a little goofy Percy with a too big shield it just seemed so comical

**Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!"**

**We cheered and shook our swords and followed her down the path to the south woods. The red team yelled taunts at us as they headed off toward the north.**

**I managed to catch up with Annabeth without tripping over my equipment. "Hey."**

**She kept marching.**

"No wonder it took him so long to figure out" Nico whispered to Thalia who laughed

**"So what's the plan?" I asked. "Got any magic items you can loan me?"**

**Her hand drifted toward her pocket, as if she were afraid I'd stolen something.**

"She has a magical item. Cool! what is it?" hazel asked excited Nico just gestured to the book and hazel pouted

**"Just watch Clarisse's spear," she said. "You don't want that thing touching you. Otherwise, don't worry. We'll take the banner from Ares. Has Luke given you your job?"**

**"Border patrol, whatever that means."**

**"It's easy. Stand by the creek, keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan."**

**She pushed ahead, leaving me in the dust.**

**"Okay," I mumbled. "Glad you wanted me on your team."**

"Aww that's so cute" Aphrodite squealed

"What was cute about that" Nico asked Thalia who shrugged

**It was a warm, sticky night. The woods were dark, with fireflies popping in and out of view****_. _****Annabeth stationed me next to a little creek that gurgled over some rocks, then she and the rest of the team scattered into the trees.**

**Standing there alone, with my big blue-feathered helmet and my huge shield, I felt like an idiot.**

"Probably looked like one too" Hercules said Theseus glared at Hercules

** The bronze sword, like all the swords I'd tried so far, seemed balanced wrong. The leather grip pulled on my hand like a bowling ball.**

**There was no way anybody would actually attack me, would they? I mean, Olympus had to have liability issues, right?**

The Olympians all looked at the book amused

**Far away, the conch horn blew. I heard whoops and yells in the woods, the clanking of metal, kids fighting. A blue-plumed ally from Apollo raced past me like a deer, leaped through the creek, and disappeared into enemy territory.**

**Great, I thought. I'll miss all the fun, as usual.**

"Bet he doesn't say that now" Nico said

"If he did id be worried" Thalia answered

**Then I heard a sound that sent a chill up my spine, a low canine growl, somewhere close by.**

"That's not good" Poseidon stated looking at the book nervously

**I raised my shield instinctively; I had the feeling some thing was stalking me.**

"Observant" Artemis stated

**Then the growling stopped. I felt the presence retreating.**

"Very observant" Athena stated

**On the other side of the creek, the underbrush exploded. Five Ares warriors came yelling and screaming out of the dark.**

**"Cream the punk!" Clarisse screamed.**

"Ya do it" Jason whispered to himself he didn't want Thalia to hear he was hoping she would forget about that talk she wanted to have, he didn't even know what was wrong with himself but Percy just rubbed him the wrong way

**Her ugly pig eyes glared through the slits of her helmet. She brandished a five-foot-long spear, its barbed metal tip flickering with red light. Her siblings had only the standard-issue bronze swords—not that that made me feel any better.**

**They charged across the stream. There was no help in sight. I could run. Or I could defend myself against half the Ares cabin.**

"Clarisse would never let him forget it if he ran" Nico said

:But it's not like he can fight all of them" Thalia said

"He beat Luke"

"At a simple sword move he's still a newbie"

"That's the attitude that lost you the bet" Nico stated smirking as Thalia frowned and turned back to the book she had nothing to say to that

**I managed to sidestep the first kid's swing, but these guys were not as stupid the Minotaur. They surrounded me, and Clarisse thrust at me with her spear. My shield deflected the point, but I felt a painful tingling all over my body. My hair stood on end. My shield arm went numb, and the air burned.**

"An electric spear" Athena observed

"Awesome!" Ares yelled

**Electricity. Her stupid spear was electric. I fell back.**

"Ha kick his butt Clarisse"

**Another Ares guy slammed me in the chest with the butt of his sword and I hit the dirt.**

**They could've kicked me into jelly, but they were too busy laughing.**

Ares laughed as well

**"Give him a haircut," Clarisse said. "Grab his hair."**

**I managed to get to my feet. I raised my sword, but Clarisse slammed it aside with her spear as sparks flew. Now both my arms felt numb.**

**"Oh, wow," Clarisse said. "I'm scared of this guy. Really scared."**

**"The flag is that way," I told her. I wanted to sound angry, but I was afraid it didn't come out that way.**

"Don't give away the flags position" Ares and Athena said at the same time they both looked at each other and away

**"Yeah," one of her siblings said. "But see, we don't care about the flag. We care about a guy who made our cabin look stupid."**

Ares smirked "that's right punk"

**"You do that without my help," I told them. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say.**

"No you think kelp head"

"**Two of them came at me. I backed up toward the creek, tried to raise my shield, but Clarisse was too fast. Her spear stuck me straight in the ribs. If I hadn't been wearing an armored breastplate, I would've been shish-kebabbed. As it was, the electric point just about shocked my teeth out of my mouth. One of her cabin mates slashed his sword across my arm, leaving a good-size cut.**

**Seeing my own blood made me dizzy—warm and cold at the same time.**

"Wimp it's just a little blood" Ares said

Hazel stared at him it was hard to imagine him as franks dad

**"No maiming," I managed to say.**

**"Oops," the guy said. "Guess I lost my dessert privilege."**

"That's it that's the punishment" hazel said in shock

"Ya I had the same reaction once I got my memories back" Jason said

"What's the point of even having the rule if that's the punishment?"

"Why do you think no one follows it" Thalia stated

**He pushed me into the creek and I landed with a splash.**

Poseidon smirked and Ares frowned slightly

**They all laughed. I figured as soon as they were through being amused, I would die. But then something happened. The water seemed to wake up my senses, as if I'd just had a bag of my mom's double-espresso jelly beans.**

"Queue ass kicking Percy" Nico said

**Clarisse and her cabinmates came into the creek to get me, but I stood to meet them. I knew what to do. I swung the flat of my sword against the first guy's head and knocked his helmet clean off. I hit him so hard I could see his eyes vibrating as he crumpled into the water.**

"Wow you weren't kidding" hazel stated and she shook her head Percy was still the same causing mass chaos.

**Ugly Number Two and Ugly Number Three came at me. I slammed one in the face with my shield and used my sword to shear off the other guy's horsehair plume. Both of them backed up quick. Ugly Number Four didn't look really anxious to attack, but Clarisse kept coming, the point of her spear crackling with energy. As soon as she thrust, I caught the shaft between the edge of my shield and my sword, and I snapped it like a twig.**

"You idiot! You corpse breath worm!" Ares yelled at the book

**"Ah!" she screamed. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!"**

"Like father like daughter, although corpse breath is more Nico than Percy"

"Hey" Nico pouted

Hazel laughed

"What are you laughing for your included in the corpse breath category too" Thalia said smiling hazel huffed and pouted along with her brother

**She probably would've said worse, but I smacked her between the eyes with my sword-butt and sent her stumbling backward out of the creek.**

"Ya go Perce" Nico cheered Poseidon smiled proudly

**Then I heard yelling, elated screams, and I saw Luke racing toward the boundary line with the red team's banner lifted high. He was flanked by a couple of Hermes guys covering his retreat, and a few Apollo's behind them, fighting off the Hephaestus kids. The Ares folks got up, and Clarisse muttered a dazed curse.**

**"A trick!" she shouted. "It was a trick."**

Athena smiled realizing what her daughter had planned she was truly something special

**They staggered after Luke, but it was too late. Everybody converged on the creek as Luke ran across into friendly territory. Our side exploded into cheers. The red banner shimmered and turned to silver. The boar and spear were replaced with a huge caduceus, the symbol of cabin eleven. Everybody on the blue team picked up Luke and started carrying him around on their shoulders. Chiron cantered out from the woods and blew the conch horn.**

**The game was over. We'd won.**

Thalia and Nico and hazel all cheered Orion put in his own cheer as well Theseus shook his head at his brother Perseus smiled and cheered too, Hercules rolled his eyes at them all

**I was about to join the celebration when Annabeth's voice, right next to me in the creek, said, "Not bad, hero."**

**I looked, but she wasn't there.**

"What" hazel asked confused?

**"Where the heck did you learn to fight like that?" she asked. The air shimmered, and she materialized, holding a Yankees baseball cap as if she'd just taken it off her head.**

"An invisible hat that's so cool" hazel stated

**I felt myself getting angry. I wasn't even fazed by the fact that she'd just been invisible. "You set me up," I said. "You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank. You had it all figured out."**

"Wow he actually figured it out" Thalia said sounding impressed

**Annabeth shrugged. "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan."**

**"A plan to get me pulverized."**

**"I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in, but ..." She shrugged. "You didn't need help."**

**Then she noticed my wounded arm. "How did you do that?"**

"Sword cut how could she not tell" Jason questioned. Perseus was with Jason on this one Hercules was slightly interested as well. The others all had smiles on their faces this was definitely one of the coolest powers ever.

**"Sword cut," I said. "What do you think?"**

**"No. It ****_was _****a sword cut. Look at it."**

**The blood was gone. Where the huge cut had been, there was a long white scratch, and even that was fading. As I watched, it turned into a small scar, and disappeared.**

"No way" Jason stated he can do that

"Yup" Thalia stated

"It's so unfair" Nico added

Perseus looked impressed and turned to Orion and Theseus "you guys can do that too" they nodded

"Although it's limited like all powers, it can only heal the basic cuts and wounds. Poison doesn't work to well depending on the potency or a fatal wound wouldn't heal either" Theseus answered

**"I—I don't get it," I said.**

**Annabeth was thinking hard.**

**I could almost see the gears turning. She looked down at my feet, then at Clarisse's broken spear, and said, "Step out of the water, Percy."**

"And she's figured it out" Thalia stated

"**"What—"**

**"Just do it."**

**I came out of the creek and immediately felt bone tired. My arms started to go numb again. My adrenaline rush left me. I almost fell over, but Annabeth steadied me.**

"So it was the water that gave him the power to beat my kids" Ares sneered

"No the water would only give Percy energy it wouldn't give him strength" Athena stated

"Wow Athena did you just defend my son: Poseidon said smiling

"Of course not I was just being logical" Athena said although her face was slightly pink

**"Oh, Styx," she cursed. "This is ****_not _****good. I didn't want ... I assumed it would be Zeus... ."**

"Hey" Zeus said offended

"She wouldn't think that if you didn't have that reputation" Hera said haughtily

**Before I could ask what she meant, I heard that canine growl again, but much closer than before. A howl ripped through the forest.**

Poseidon's previous smile slipped off his face

**The campers' cheering died instantly. Chiron shouted something in Ancient Greek, which I would realize, only later, I had understood perfectly: ****_"Stand ready! My bow!"_**

**Annabeth drew her sword.**

**There on the rocks just above us was a black hound the size of a rhino, with lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers.**

"Hell hound" Thalia whispered turning pale

Nico looked pale as well

**It was looking straight at me.**

"Why is it always him" Thalia said sighing

**Nobody moved except Annabeth, who yelled, "Percy, run!"**

**She tried to step in front of me, but the hound was too fast. It leaped over her—an enormous shadow with teeth—and just as it hit me, as I stumbled backward and felt its razor-sharp claws ripping through my armor, there was a cascade of thwacking sounds, like forty pieces of paper being ripped one after the other. From the hounds neck sprouted a cluster of arrows. The monster fell dead at my feet.**

Poseidon let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding

**By some miracle, I was still alive. I didn't want to look underneath the ruins of my shredded armor. My chest felt warm and wet, and I knew I was badly cut. Another second, and the monster would've turned me into a hundred pounds of delicatessen meat.**

**Chiron trotted up next to us, a bow in his hand, his face grim.**

**_"Di immortals!"_** **Annabeth said. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't ... they're not supposed to ..."**

**"Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp."**

"So not a practical joke" hazel sated remembering the last chapter

**Luke came over, the banner in his hand forgotten, his moment of glory gone.**

**Clarisse yelled, "It's all Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!"**

"Idiot" Thalia said rolling her eyes

**"Be quiet, child," Chiron told her.**

**We watched the body of the hellhound melt into shadow, soaking into the ground until it disappeared.**

**"You're wounded," Annabeth told me. "Quick, Percy, get in the water."**

**"I'm okay."**

"No you're not son listen to her" Poseidon stated

"That's the biggest lie ever told 'I'm okay'" Thalia said

"Actually I think the biggest lie is 'I have read and agreed to these terms and services'" Nico stated

Thalia stared at him then shrugged "good point"

**"No, you're not," she said. "Chiron, watch this."**

**I was too tired to argue. I stepped back into the creek, the whole camp gathering around me.**

**Instantly, I felt better. I could feel the cuts on my chest closing up. Some of the campers gasped.**

"Percy… always causing a scene" Thalia said

"No joke" hazel agreed

**"Look, I—I don't know why," I said, trying to apologize. "I'm sorry..."**

**But they weren't watching my wounds heal. They were staring at something above my head.**

**"Percy," Annabeth said, pointing. "Um ..."**

**By the time I looked up, the sign was already fading, but I could still make out the hologram of green light, spinning and gleaming. A three-tipped spear: a trident.**

I finally claimed him Poseidon thought although he was nervous after all he wasn't supposed to have children poor Percy what have I put you through I'm sorry he thought

**"Your father," Annabeth murmured. "This is ****_really _****not good."**

**"It is determined," Chiron announced.**

**All around me, campers started kneeling, even the Ares cabin, though they didn't look happy about it.**

Ares grumbled a bit more

**"My father?" I asked, completely bewildered.**

**"Poseidon," said Chiron. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Peruses Jackson, Son of the Sea God." **

"What a way to be claimed it's as bad as franks" hazel stated smiling

"Ok that's the end of the chapter you read next" Aphrodite said handing the book to Ares who grumbled about not wanting to but he took the book anyway.

Suddenly there was a groan and a thunk followed by a series of curses in ancient Greek everyone turned. There in the glass coffin was Percy awake rubbing his head and staring at them in shock.

Sorry couldn't help myself just had to make it a cliffhanger anyway that's the end of this chapter please review and vote on whether or not Percy should be cursed and if frank should join thanks


	11. Chapter 11

Hey guys I'm back well the votes have been tallied and the results are frank is a no and the curse is a yes. For those who voted against the curse please stay with me I won't go to over the top with it I promise so please give it a try. Anyway I'm sorry it took so long to update but with Halloween coming up and I'm trying to get a job at pizza hut my life has been pretty hectic but here's your story…..

DISCLAIMER: I still own absolutely nothing

Thalia jumped to her feet quick "let him out!" she yelled. Aphrodite snapped her fingers and the glass disappeared, although she was still pouting and muttering about how there was no kiss. Everyone ignored her choosing instead to study the newly awakened demigod they had just been reading about. Percy looked around frantically last he remembered he was in the depths of Tartarus with an injured Annabeth trying to fight their way to the doors of death and now he was on Olympus with Annabeth nowhere in sight and instead his cousins.

"What the hell is going on? Why am I here? Where's Annabeth?" he shouted all at once.

Thalia wanted so badly to just hug him but he looked panicked right now so she needed to calm him down first. "Percy relax"

"Relax! "How can I possibly relax?! One second I was in in… look just tell me where Annabeth is?"(Aphrodite squeals slightly in the background.)

"She's not here Percy. So far as I can tell only the children of the big three are. Now if you'll calm down for 5 seconds and listen to me I'll explain" Thalia said lightning crackling in her frustration Percy stopped panicking and took a deep breath

"Ok lay it on me what's happening"

Thalia quickly explained about the books and how they were in the past reading them.

"How far in the past? And what about what's going on in the present?…. I have books about me?" he asked still worried about Annabeth after all he swore he would never leave her alone especially in a place like that. Before Thalia could answer a note appeared and floated down toward Percy. He reached up and caught it and read to himself

Dear Percy,

We the fates have gathered you here to read in order to change a few things in the future. Everything outside of Olympus is frozen. Even in your time everything is in a standstill (Percy breathed out a sigh of relief). We ask that you don't give anything away.

The fates

P.S. there is however something you should know. Pulling you from Tartarus was a difficult task and it left you with a slight side effect basically any major pain that happens to the book you happens to the real you.

"What how is that fair?! First I have to deal with that awful place and now this. I can't catch a break can I?" Percy said angrily

"What place? What does it say? Thalia questioned trying to look at the note. Percy hastily shoved the note in his pocket and Thalia pouted.

"Basically that time is frozen outside of Olympus even where we come from. And I'm not to share any info on where I've been and get this as a side effect of bringing me here I have to feel the same pain my book self does all over again." At the end of this Percy's anger simply vanished into exhaustion why is it always him. Everyone in the room looked at him in shock for a moment and Percy noticed the tense atmosphere and smiled lets change the subject he thought so he asked." what time period are you all from."

Hazel stepped forward "I'm from right after ours and franks quest"

Jason stepped up "I'm from before we land in Rome" he said coldly Percy looked at him weirdly and sighed looks like he'd have to make friends with Jason all over again.

"I'm from the time right after I start searching for the doors" Nico stated looking wearily at Percy. Percy smirked on the inside but in reality gave Nico a cold look he was so gunna make Nico sweat a little he deserved it. Although it was nice to see a healthy looking Nico seeing him so sickly had made Percy sick with worry perhaps now he'd be able to prevent Nico's capture the poor boy had been through enough and was goth enough without having seen Tartarus.

And finally Thalia stepped up "and I'm from the time when you have been missing for nearly 8 months and I've been searching for freaking forever and was worried sick speaking of which…" and just like that, to everyone's surprise especially Artemis's seeing how Thalia was her future lieutenant and all, she jumped on him and squeezed him for all she was worth "I missed you. You stupid kelp head don't do that to me ever again got it." And she gave him a quick zap.

"Ouch damn Thalia that hurt" Percy said pouting

Thalia stared at him and reached forward and punched him.

"Ouch what the hell"

"You don't have the curse of Achilles anymore" she said

Percy rubbed his arm where she had punched him and said "nope got rid of that a while ago in my time"

"Oops sorry didn't know" Thalia said shrugging "I didn't even think it was possible to get rid of it"

The gods and heroes of old who had been watching up till now decided to make their presence known as Zeus cleared his throat loudly. The group jumped and turned having momentarily forgotten where they were.

"Oh hey Percy let me introduce you to some other heroes that are here" Thalia said

Nico hung back a bit was Percy really that mad at him, it hadn't been his fault he wasn't allowed to say anything. Was Percy going to hate him now because of that? Nico didn't know what to think he was so nervous and he wanted to hug Percy just as Thalia had. Nico then shook his head what was he thinking he wasn't some little kid anymore.

Thalia led Percy over to the heroes of old. "Percy first off we have Theseus your half-brother." Percy looked at the guy standing in front of him in shock.

"Shouldn't you be dead" Percy blurted out without thinking. Theseus stood there and then laughed loudly.

"We came from the past so no were not dead yet" Percy blushed a bit but shook his half-brothers hand.

"Next we have your other half-brother Orion"

"The bow and arrow guy" Percy stated as he shook Orion's hand "nice to meet you."

"Bow and arrow guy hmm… that's an odd sort of title but I suppose it's better than aren't you supposed to be dead" Orion said smiling as Percy blushed an even deeper shade of pink. Both brothers smiled although they still didn't know Percy to well they were happy he was out of the coffin because although he still looked a bit scrawny he didn't look as dead and it made them less worried about the boy.

"Ok and next Perseus meet Perseus" Thalia introduced. Percy shook hands with him and blushed a bit after all it was weird to meet someone you were named after.

Perseus seemed to sense this so he smiled and said "l really like your name Perseus"

Percy snorted but played along "yeah it has a nice ring to it doesn't it" they both laughed. Percy smiled it was nice to know his namesake wasn't a jerk.

"And last" Thalia said this with a lot less enthusiasm as she shot Percy a warning look that he didn't understand, until the last hero stepped forward and Percy glowered thinking not only of his latest encounter (or Jason's telling of his encounter) with the hero, but also because of Zoë. He felt a surge of anger but within the last few years of his life he'd learned how to hide how he feels so he put on a smile and shook Hercules hand. "This is Hercules" Thalia said with forced happiness. Hercules didn't try to smile he gave Percy a quick handshake and then turned away. Then when those introductions were done Percy turned toward the gods and inclined his head shooting a smile at both his father and Hestia before going and sitting between Thalia and Nico. The gods and other demigods (except Thalia and Nico) looked shocked. Poseidon was smiling Percy was definitely his son.

Hazel looked to Percy "you know when you talked back to Juno and Mars I thought it was a onetime thing you didn't have your memories so you didn't realize what you were doing but you act like that with all gods don't you" Percy laughed and so did Nico and Thalia

"Yup that's Percy" Thalia stated with a laugh.

Nico twiddled his thumbs a bit and looked at Percy before he blurted out "please don't hate me Percy I'm sorry but I couldn't tell you I swore I wouldn't I'm sorry!"

Percy started to laugh and he reached over and ruffled Nico's hair "I'm not mad at you anymore Nico I understand" Nico pouted at Percy when he realized he'd been tricked but then he smiled and hugged him Percy hugged him back and the cousins all sat together smiling their family was back together. Percy sighed as he looked around at everyone. Smiling took so much effort when in reality he just wanted to collapse Tartarus had taken a lot out of him. Ares held up the book "ok I'm reading"

"He can read Percy whispered then he smiled "I guess I was wrong about him and mars being different" hazel snorted. Thalia and Nico looked at him with a question in their eyes but he waved them off and gestured towards Ares who started to read

AN: that's it for that chapter dang it was a hard one to write I want to make sure to write Percy really well. So what did you think?


	12. Chapter 12

AN: Next chapter up. I'm glad that you guys all like my story it means a lot to me to see all the wonderful reviews. I know a lot of you are wanting a big fight between Jason and Percy and Hercules and Percy but I need to draw this out for a while because they will be reading the whole book series even the ones that rick riordan is writing right now and so I've got to save some conflict for later on but don't worry Thalia will be having that talk with Jason soon probably in the next filler chapter.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything (yes I know I don't have to repeat the disclaimer but I feel like if I repeat it every chapter it will keep a few of the Nazis off my back.) now on with the chapter enjoy.

"**I Am Offered a Quest." **Read Ares in a bored voice. Why did I have to get the boring chapter he thought but he kept reading anyway might as well get it over with.

**The next morning, Chiron moved me to cabin three.**

"And it starts" Thalia said sighing Percy sighed and Nico nodded. Jason agreed quietly and hazel winced a bit. The gods looked a bit confused was being there children that bad.

**I didn't have to share with anybody. I had plenty of room for all my stuff: the Minotaur's horn, one set of spare clothes, and a toiletry bag. I got to sit at my own dinner table, **

**pick all my own activities, call "lights out" whenever I felt like it, and not listen to anybody else.**

"And you were absolutely miserable" Nico and Thalia said together and Percy laughed knowing that's exactly what he had thought

**And I was absolutely miserable.**

The big three winced and looked at their children in sympathy

The heroes of old (even Hercules) looked at their siblings sadly they never had to worry about that in their time but they each knew in their own right how it felt to feel like you don't belong.

**Just when I'd started to feel accepted, to feel I had a home in cabin eleven and I might be a normal kid—or as normal as you can be when you're a half-blood—I'd been **

**separated out as if I had some rare disease.**

"That's terrible no child should ever have to feel like that" Hestia said

"Ya I think it's one of the things I like better about the romans at least there you never really feel alone" Percy stated and hazel nodded she didn't know what she would do if she had to be alone at camp. She already felt lonely enough as it is. Now she realized how hard it must have been for Nico especially after his sister died.

**Nobody mentioned the hellhound, but I got the feeling they were all talking about it behind my back. The attack had scared everybody. It sent two messages: one; that I was **

**the son of the Sea God; and two, monsters would stop at nothing to kill me. **

"Well there's nothing new about that last one" Percy said laughing Poseidon paled a bit

"Ya it seemed like almost every monster we came across knew your name" hazel stated and Poseidon groaned.

**They could even invade a camp that had always been considered safe. The other campers steered clear of me as much as possible. Cabin eleven was too nervous to have **

**sword class with me after what I'd done to the Ares folks in the woods,**

"Even now no one likes have sword practice with you"

"really there still scared of him" hazel asked in shock

"I didn't say scared I said they didn't like to and that's because Percy always beats them up" Thalia clarified

** so my lessons with Luke became one-on-one. He pushed me harder than ever, and wasn't afraid to **

**bruise me up in the process.**

"I still think unfair that you get the cool healing powers and we don't" Nico stated with huff Percy just smiled at him.

**"You're going to need all the training you can get," he promised, as we were working with swords and flaming torches. "Now let's try that viper-beheading strike again. Fifty **

**more repetitions."**

"Wow that's a ton of work" Thalia stated

"That's nothing compared to how we train at the roman camp" Jason said

"Why are we trying to find this camp again" she asked aloud and Percy snorted then rolled his eyes at her when she smiled innocently at him

**Annabeth still taught me Greek in the mornings, but she seemed distracted. Every time I said something, she scowled at me, as if I'd just poked her between the eyes.**

**After lessons, she would walk away muttering to herself: "Quest ... Poseidon? ... Dirty rotten ... Got to make a plan …"**

Nico Thalia Jason and Percy all laughed and Percy shot a sideways glance at Jason who seemed to have angled himself away from Percy and more toward Thalia. Well they are brother and sister he thought he probably doesn't like the fact that we hang out so much. Maybe he should talk to Thalia about it.

** Even Clarisse kept her distance, though her venomous **

**looks made it clear she wanted to kill me for breaking her magic spear. I wished she would just yell or punch me or something. I'd rather get into fights every day than be **

**ignored.**

Ares laughed "just let my cabin know they'd beat you up"

"They'd try" Percy said under his breath

Nico smiled and elbowed Percy "big ego much" Percy did the adult thing and stuck his tongue out at him

**I knew somebody at camp resented me, because one night I came into my cabin and found a mortal newspaper dropped inside the doorway, a copy of the ****_New York Daily _**

**_News, _****opened to the Metro page. The article took me almost an hour to read, because the angrier I got, the more the words floated around on the page.**

**_BOY AND MOTHER STILL MISSING AFTER_**

**_FREAK CAR ACCIDENT_**

**_BY EILEEN SMYTHE_**

"That bastard" Thalia said quietly she knew exactly who had left that magazine article. Percy put a hand on her shoulder Thalia glanced at him and sighed before nodding Percy smiled

Jason glared at Percy, first Perseus had comforted his sister and now Percy not that he wasn't happy that they had helped it's just he was her brother and he should be the one doing that.

**_Sally Jackson and son Percy are still missing one week after their mysterious disappearance. The family's badly burned '78 Camaro was discovered last Saturday on a north _**

**_Long Island road with the roof ripped off and the front axle broken._**

**_The car had flipped and skidded for several hundred feet before exploding._**

**_Mother and son had gone for a weekend vacation to Montauk, but left hastily, under mysterious circumstances. Small traces of blood were found in the car and near the scene _**

**_of the wreck, but there were no other signs of the missing Jacksons. Residents in the rural area reported seeing nothing unusual around the time of the accident._**

**_Ms. Jackson's husband, Gabe Ugliano,_**

Percy glowered at the sound of his name

"That reminds me Percy we need to have a talk" said Poseidon and his 2 half-brothers nodded as well as Thalia and Nico he looked at them questioningly but they didn't say anything else so he had no choice but to drop it for now.

**_ claims that his stepson, Percy Jackson, is a troubled child who has been kicked out of numerous boarding schools and has expressed _**

**_violent tendencies in the past._**

"He did not just insinuate what I think he did" Thalia said she looked at Percy and saw he was glaring at the book

**_Police would not say whether son Percy is a suspect in his mother's disappearance, but they have not ruled out foul play. _**

"They think it was Percy my gods mortals are idiots" Hermes said

Thalia was silently fuming

**_Below are recent pictures of Sally Jackson and Percy. Police urge anyone with information to call the following toll-free crime-stoppers hotline._**

**The phone number was circled in black marker.**

**I wadded up the paper and threw it away, then flopped down in my bunk bed in the middle of my empty cabin.**

**"Lights out," I told myself miserably. That night, I had my worst dream yet.**

**I was running along the beach in a storm. This time, there was a city behind me. Not New York. The sprawl was different: buildings spread farther apart, palm trees and low **

**hills in the distance.**

"Sounds like Los Angeles" Poseidon said and Percy nodded to him

**About a hundred yards down the surf, two men were fighting. They looked like TV wrestlers, muscular, with beards and long hair. Both wore flowing Greek tunics, one **

**trimmed in blue, the other in green. They grappled with each other, wrestled, kicked and head-butted, and every time they connected, lightning flashed, the sky grew darker, **

**and the wind rose.**

"TV wrestlers?" both gods turned to look at Percy eyebrows raised whilst others snorted or looked amused at the description,

Percy blushed and shrugged "I can't control my dreams" he stated

**I had to stop them. I didn't know why. But the harder I ran, the more the wind blew me back, until I was running in place, my heels digging uselessly in the sand. Over the **

**roar of the storm, I could hear the blue-robed one yelling at the green-robed one, ****_Give it back! Give it back! _****Like a kindergartner fighting over a toy.**

Zeus gave a small huff and glared at Percy for being called a kindergartener while his two brothers laughed

"That is the most apt description of Zeus that I have ever heard" hades said and Zeus glared at him and then Poseidon when he agreed

**The waves got bigger, crashing into the beach, spraying me with salt.**

**I yelled, ****_Stop it! Stop fighting!_**

**The ground shook. Laughter came from somewhere under the earth, and a voice so deep and evil it turned my blood to ice****_._**

"It's not my dad, ya he's mean sometimes but not pure evil" Nico stated hades looked kindly at his son but he was inwardly frowning his son seemed to have spoken as though he had seen his crueler side and it didn't sit well with him that in the future he might direct his anger onto his only son.

**_Come down, little hero, _****the voice crooned. ****_Come down!_**

**The sand split beneath me, opening up a crevice straight down to the center of the earth. My feet slipped, and darkness swallowed me.**

The other gods looked at each other darkly if it wasn't hades then… none of them wanted to think of the alternative especially the 6 children of rhea

**I woke up, sure I was falling.**

**I was still in bed in cabin three. My body told me it was morning, but it was dark outside, and thunder rolled across the hills. A storm was brewing. I hadn't dreamed that.**

**I heard a clopping sound at the door, a hoof knocking on the threshold.**

"So techniquely speaking he would be kicking your door because everyone at camp has normal hands" Thalia said looking at Percy questioningly

"Don't look at me I didn't write this book" Percy said shrugging

**"Come in?"**

**Grover trotted inside, looking worried. "Mr. D wants to see you."**

**"Why?"**

**"He wants to kill... I mean, I'd better let him tell you."**

"Well that's a nice thing to wake up to" hazel stated

"Yeah it's pretty much a normal occurrence by now" Percy said smiling

**Nervously, I got dressed and followed, sure that I was in huge trouble.**

**For days, I'd been half expecting a summons to the Big House. Now that I was declared a son of Poseidon, one of the Big Three gods who weren't supposed to have kids, I **

**figured it was a crime for me just to be alive.**

Thalia and Percy sighed and Nico looked down. Jason and hazel weren't too worried about it they hadn't even known that the oath existed and so they had never had to worry about that not like the other three who were constantly worried about if the gods might decide to kill them if something went wrong.

**The other gods had probably been debating the best way to punish me for existing, and now Mr. D was ready to deliver their verdict.**

"No we wouldn't trust Mr. D to deliver the verdict most likely it would be Chiron" Poseidon said and Dionysus huffed at Poseidon but didn't object it was probably true

**Over Long Island Sound, the sky looked like ink soup coming to a boil. A hazy curtain of rain was coming in our direction. I asked Grover if we needed an umbrella.**

**"No," he said. "It never rains here unless we want it to."**

"Why do I have a feeling he's wrong about that this time?" Thalia Said

**I pointed at the storm. "What the heck is that, then?"**

**He glanced uneasily at the sky. "It'll pass around us. Bad weather always does."**

**I realized he was right. In the week I'd been here, it had never even been overcast. The few rain clouds I'd seen had skirted right around the edges of the valley.**

"Oh" said hazel suddenly "that's why you don't really have to worry about rain in the lunch pavilion" she said

**But this storm ... this one was huge. At the volleyball pit, the kids from Apollo's cabin were playing a morning game against the satyrs. Dionysus's twins were walking around **

**in the strawberry fields, making the plants grow. Everybody was going about their normal business, but they looked tense. They kept their eyes on the storm.**

"They can feel the bad omen that surrounds the clouds" Hestia stated "demigods have good senses"

**Grover and I walked up to the front porch of the Big House. Dionysus sat at the pinochle table in his tiger-striped Hawaiian shirt with his Diet Coke, just as he had on my first **

**day. Chiron sat across the table in his fake wheel chair. They were playing against invisible opponents-two sets of cards hovering in the air.**

**"Well, well," Mr. D said without looking up. "Our little celebrity."**

"Just like in the harry potter movie" again he got no response "ok seriously I get not knowing about the very potter musical but not harry potter in general" he said sounding exasperated

Percy stared at his cousin trying to keep a straight face and Thalia was as well but seeing there cousin so riled up they had to laugh "sorry Nics we couldn't help giving you a hard time" Nico glared at both of them as they laughed

"Who is this harry potter" Athena asked quizzically

"What actually" Percy said "it's a book and it's really popular in our time"

"Oh" she said then she smiled she always liked a good book

**I waited.**

**"Come closer," Mr. D said. "And don't expect me to kowtow to you, mortal, just because old Barnacle-Beard is your father."**

Poseidon sighed what is it with all these nicknames he thought

** A net of lightning flashed across the clouds. **

**Thunder shook the windows of the house.**

"Geez dad dramatic much" Thalia mumbled under her breath Percy snorted next to her and the others stared at him weirdly before going back to reading

**"Blah, blah, blah," Dionysus said.**

Zeus raised his eyebrows at Dionysus who smiled innocently back

**Chiron feigned interest in his pinochle cards. Grover cowered by the railing, his hooves clopping back and forth.**

**"If I had my way," Dionysus said, "I would cause your molecules to erupt in flames. We'd sweep up the ashes and be done with a lot of trouble.**

"Not if I have anything to say about it" Poseidon stated and Percy smiled at his dad who winked at him

** But Chiron seems to feel this **

**would be against my mission at this cursed camp: to keep you little brats safe from harm."**

**"Spontaneous combustion ****_is _****a form of harm, Mr. D," Chiron put in.**

"Nonsense he wouldn't feel a thing" Mr. D stated

"Wow" Percy whispered "he doesn't change much does he"

**"Nonsense," Dionysus said. "Boy wouldn't feel a thing. Nevertheless, I've agreed to restrain myself I'm thinking of turning you into a dolphin instead, sending you back to **

**your father."**

"Wow you really like turning people into dolphins don't you" Mr. d Percy stated

"What do you mean" Dionysus said looking at Percy eyes raised

"Oh I just recently ran into Chrysayor and his crew a little while back" Percy said

Mr.D flickered to his roman form Bacchus for a moment and then back to Greek and sighed "yes that was a fun time."

"Chrysaor was a son of Poseidon wasn't he" Thalia asked

"Yup" said Percy "I don't have much luck when it comes to my half-brothers most of them want to kill me"

"Really hazel" asked looking bewildered

"Yup" Percy stated with a shrug of his shoulders "we normally end up in sword fights when we meet except for triton but let's face it had he stuck around any longer we probably would have"

"Ya" Thalia said "I heard that meeting didn't go to well"

"Nope but that's a story from another time" Percy stated

"Well if it helps I can honestly say that I don't think that either Theseus or I want to kill you" Orion said smiling at his younger brother from all this talk it seemed like the demigod was a bit of a trouble maker

Percy smiled at the two "that's definitely good to know"

all while they were talking Poseidon was turning pale his son was going to give him gray hairs and he was a god he didn't get gray hairs Hestia gave him a reassuring smile and he smiled back slightly. He had a feeling Percy was going to be a handful

**"Mr. D—" Chiron warned.**

**"Oh, all right," Dionysus relented. "There's one more option. But it's deadly foolishness." Dionysus rose, and the invisible players' cards dropped to the table. "I'm off to **

**Olympus for the emergency meeting. If the boy is still here when I get back, I'll turn him into an Atlantic bottlenose. Do you understand? And Perseus Jackson, if you're at all **

**smart, you'll see that's a much more sensible choice than what Chiron feels you must do."**

"He used your name again" Nico said

"You know Nico Mr.D's not all bad"

"Who are you and what have you done to my cousin"

"Well I'm not saying I like him I don't in both forms roman and Greek he's a pain, but I guess after the first war I just understand him a bit better" Percy stated

Mr.D looked curiously at Percy and then conjured up a wine magazine and buried his face into it to think for a moment

**Dionysus picked up a playing card, twisted it, and it became a plastic rectangle. A credit card? No. A security pass.**

**He snapped his fingers.**

**The air seemed to fold and bend around him. He became a hologram, then a wind, then he was gone, leaving only the smell of fresh-pressed grapes lingering behind.**

"He's just as dramatic as his father" Poseidon stated Zeus shot him a glare

**Chiron smiled at me, but he looked tired and strained. "Sit, Percy, please. And Grover."**

**We did.**

**Chiron laid his cards on the table, a winning hand he hadn't gotten to use.**

**"Tell me, Percy," he said. "What did you make of the hellhound?"**

"He eats them for breakfast" Nico said all the gods starred at him while Percy laughed

"Best not let Mrs. O'Leary hear you say that she may get offended"

"Who is Mrs. O'Leary" the gods and the heroes of old and Jason asked

"My pet hellhound"

They stared at him in shock "where did you get a pet hell hound" hades asked

"She was left in my care… look it's a long story and the books will tell you."

**Just hearing the name made me shudder.**

**Chiron probably wanted me to say, ****_Heck, it was nothing. I eat hellhounds for breakfast._**

"See I was right"

"No you weren't if I had said that I would have been lying"

Nico shrugged "still called it" he said under his breath while Percy rolled his eyes

**But I didn't feel like lying.**

**"It scared me," I said. "If you hadn't shot it, I'd be dead."**

Poseidon grimaced at these words Percy hadn't even been born yet in this time and already Poseidon was dreading his death.

**"You'll meet worse, Percy. Far worse, before you're done."**

**"Done ... with what?"**

**"Your quest, of course. Will you accept it?"**

"He hasn't even told you what it is yet" Thalia said Percy looked at her weirdly

**I glanced at Grover, who was crossing his fingers.**

**"Um, sir," I said, "you haven't told me what it is yet."**

Thalia blushed and everyone snickered or looked amused. "Oh no! Thalia you think like Percy quick duck and cover the world is coming to an end" Nico called out

Zeus raised his eyebrows at the boy and looked at hades "and they say I'm the dramatic one your sons even worse I wonder where he gets it from"

"I have no idea neither I or his mother is anything like that" hades said though a small smile was on his lips as he looked at his son being teased by his cousins he had the impression that Nico wasn't able to act like a kid a lot and that this was a rare occurrence which saddened him hopefully in the future he could give Nico a bit of a better childhood

**Chiron grimaced. "Well, that's the hard part, the details."**

**Thunder rumbled across the valley. The storm clouds had now reached the edge of the beach. As far as I could see, the sky and the sea were boiling together.**

**"Poseidon and Zeus," I said. "They're fighting over something valuable ... something that was stolen, aren't they?" Chiron and Grover exchanged looks.**

The gods leaned forward unconsciously toward the book Zeus and Poseidon more so than the others

**Chiron sat forward in his wheelchair. "How did you know that?"**

**My face felt hot. I wished I hadn't opened my big mouth. "The weather since Christmas has been weird, like the sea and the sky are fighting. Then I talked to Annabeth, and **

**she'd overheard something about a theft. And ... I've also been having these dreams."**

"I hate demigod dreams" Percy muttered the others all agreed including the heroes of old

**"I knew it," Grover said.**

**"Hush, satyr," Chiron ordered.**

**"But it is his quest!" Grover's eyes were bright with excitement. "It must be!"**

**"Only the Oracle can determine."**

Percy shuddered "I hate that thing" he said before Nico and Thalia could hush him

"What is wrong with my beautiful oracle she perfectly fine now" Apollo said none of the demigods answered him and he gave an irritated huff

Percy grimaced "I forgot we were in the past for a moment there its weird that they don't know things that we do."

**Chiron stroked his bristly beard. "Nevertheless, Percy, you are correct. Your father and Zeus are having their worst quarrel in centuries. They are fighting over something **

**valuable that was stolen. To be precise: a lightning bolt."**

"WHAT!" Zeus thundered

and all the other gods looked shocked who would be stupid enough to steal Zeus's lightning bolt Zeus himself was very angry he shot a look at Poseidon who looked incredulously back at him "you're going to blame me and my son aren't you" he said looking annoyed.

"Who else could it be" Zeus said looking thoroughly pissed off?

"I don't know hades maybe"

"Me?!" hades said "why the heck would I steal it" and then the three brothers started bickering and arguing over who'd be the best suspect

"You're all wrong so shut up and listen to the story" Percy yelled the three gods stopped and looked at Percy who pointed toward the book "you won't know unless you read" he said the three gods called a momentary truce

Everyone else was looking at Percy like he was crazy yelling at the big three like that Ares stared for a moment then continued to read

**I laughed nervously. "A ****_what_****?"**

"It's not a laughing matter my bolt is extremely powerful" Zeus growled out promising death to whoever had taken it.

**"Do not take this lightly," Chiron warned. "I'm not talking about some tinfoil-covered zigzag you'd see in a second-grade play. I'm talking about a two-foot-long cylinder of **

**high-grade celestial bronze, capped on both ends with god-level explosives."**

Hazel snapped her fingers and turned toward Percy "that's what you meant when you were looking at Zeus's statue"

"What?" Percy asked momentarily confused

'At the roman camp when we were in Zeus's temple and you saw his statue and the bolt and you said it didn't look like that" hazel prompted

"Oh yeah I remember and yup that's what I meant"

"Octavian would freak out if he knew we'd gotten it wrong"

"I'd like to see that" Percy said and they both laughed Jason had to agree with them it would be funny to see Octavian freak out it was one thing they could agree on

**"Oh."**

**"Zeus's master bolt," Chiron said, getting worked up now. "The symbol of his power, from which all other lightning bolts are patterned. The first weapon made by the Cyclopes **

**for the war against the Titans, the bolt that sheered the top off Mount Etna and hurled Kronos from his throne; the master bolt, which packs enough power to make mortal **

**hydrogen bombs look like firecrackers."**

The demigods looked nervous except Percy who had been there done that and had the camp bead to prove it

**"And it's missing?"**

**"Stolen," Chiron said.**

**"By who?"**

**"By ****_whom_****," Chiron corrected.**

"Once a teacher always a teacher" Thalia stated

**Once a teacher, always a teacher.**

Percy laughed "you have to stop copying me Thals"

Thalia glared at the book and then at Percy as he laughed

**"By you."**

"See" Zeus said pointing to the book like a little kid "see it said he took it"

Poseidon rolled his eyes at his brother "Percy couldn't have stolen it we're reading about his life and it's obvious he didn't even know gods existed how could he steal it"

"Wow kelp heads actually making sense what's the world coming too" Athena fake gasped

"Oh shut up owl head"

**My mouth fell open.**

**"At least"—Chiron held up a hand—"that's what Zeus thinks. During the winter solstice, at the last council of the gods, Zeus and Poseidon had an argument. The usual **

**nonsense: 'Mother Rhea always liked you best,' Air disasters are more spectacular than sea disasters,' etcetera.**

"You guys have got to get a new argument that one has been going on for the last few millennia and I'm tired of it" Hera said

** Afterward, Zeus realized his master bolt was missing, taken **

**from the throne room under his very nose. He immediately blamed Poseidon. Now, a god cannot usurp another god's symbol of power directly—that is forbidden by the most **

**ancient of divine laws. But Zeus believes your father convinced a human hero to take it."**

"Honestly brother why would I even want to take your stupid master bolt"

"It's not stupid" Zeus argued Aphrodite made Ares read again much to his disappointment he was looking forward to a fight

**"But I didn't—"**

**"Patience and listen, child," Chiron said. "Zeus has good reason to be suspicious. The forges of the Cyclopes are under the ocean, which gives Poseidon some influence over **

**the makers of his brother's lightning. Zeus believes Poseidon has taken the master bolt, and is now secretly having the Cyclopes build an arsenal of illegal copies, which might **

**be used to topple Zeus from his throne.**

Poseidon looked annoyed "ridiculous" he muttered

**The only thing Zeus wasn't sure about was which hero Poseidon used to steal the bolt. Now Poseidon has openly claimed you as his son. You were in New York over the winter **

**holidays. You could easily have snuck into Olympus. Zeus believes he has found his thief."**

**"But I've never even been to Olympus! Zeus is crazy!"**

Thunder rumbled and everyone looked at Zeus "seriously brother" Poseidon said

Zeus shrugged "habit"

**Chiron and Grover glanced nervously at the sky. The clouds didn't seem to be parting around us, as Grover had promised. They were rolling straight over our valley, sealing us **

**in like a coffin lid.**

"Wow your thoughts are pessimistic" Nico said

Percy sighed to himself you have no idea he thought after being in Tartarus for a few weeks all his thoughts had turned pessimistic but that was to be expected after all it was the most horrible place on earth. Percy shuddered just thinking about it there were plenty of good reason on why the gods were so terrified of it

**"Er, Percy ...?" Grover said. "We don't use the ****_c_****-word to describe the Lord of the Sky."**

**"Perhaps ****_paranoid," _**

"Paranoid doesn't begin to describe Zeus" hades said and Zeus pouted what was it gang up on Zeus day these last few chapters had not been good to him.

**Chiron suggested. "Then again, Poseidon has tried to unseat Zeus before. I believe that was question thirty-eight on your final exam..." He looked at me **

**as if he actually expected me to remember question thirty-eight.**

"Please you can't even remember what you ate for breakfast" Thalia said smirking

Percy stuck out his tongue at her

**How could anyone accuse me of stealing a god's weapon? I couldn't even steal a slice of pizza from Gabe's poker party without getting busted. Chiron was waiting for an **

**answer.**

**"Something about a golden net?" I guessed. "Poseidon and Hera and a few other gods ... they, like, trapped Zeus and wouldn't let him out until he promised to be a better **

**ruler, right?"**

"ha-ha I got it right"

Thalia looked momentarily shocked and then shrugged "lucky guess"

"and techniquely it was your wife's idea I don't know why I'm the only one being fully blamed for that" Poseidon huffed Hera glared at him

**"Correct," Chiron said. "And Zeus has never trusted Poseidon since. Of course, Poseidon denies stealing the master bolt. He took great offense at the accusation.**

"Of course I would have I'm no thief" Poseidon said hotly

** The two have **

**been arguing back and forth for months, threatening war. And now, you've come along—the proverbial last straw."**

**"But I'm just a kid!"**

"That doesn't matter in the demigod world" Thalia said

"Yes I'd noticed" Percy replied back sarcastically

**"Percy," Grover cut in, "if you were Zeus, and you already thought your brother was plotting to overthrow you, then your brother suddenly admitted he had broken the sacred oath he took after World War II, that he's fathered a new mortal hero who might be used as a weapon against you... Wouldn't that put a twist in your toga?"**

**"But I didn't do anything. Poseidon—my dad—he didn't really have this master bolt stolen, did he?"**

Poseidon pouted "of course I didn't" he said looking at his son

Percy raised his hands "sorry I just had to make sure"

**Chiron sighed. "Most thinking observers would agree that thievery is not Poseidon's style. But the Sea God is too proud to try convincing Zeus of that. Zeus has demanded that **

**Poseidon return the bolt by the summer solstice. That's June twenty-first, ten days from now.**

**Poseidon wants an apology for being called a thief by the same date.**

"Ugh" Hera said and she motioned for Athena who was sitting close to Poseidon. Athena nodded and together they both smacked said gods upside the head

"Ow" they both yelled and glared at the respective women

** I hoped that diplomacy might prevail, that Hera or Demeter or Hestia would make the two brothers see **

**sense. But your arrival has inflamed Zeus's temper. Now neither god will back down.**

"Men" Artemis muttered underneath her breath god or mortal they were all the same

** Unless someone intervenes, unless the master bolt is found and returned to Zeus before **

**the solstice, there will be war. And do you know what a full-fledged war would look like, Percy?"**

**"Bad?" I guessed.**

"Really" Athena said looking at Percy "your vocabulary is very limited"

"I'm sorry did you want me to use another term let's see there's catastrophic and terrible and …"

"You have quite the cheek don't you" Athena said unamused

Percy just smiled

**"Imagine the world in chaos. Nature at war with itself. Olympians forced to choose sides between Zeus and Poseidon. Destruction. Carnage. Millions dead. Western civilization **

**turned into a battleground so big it will make the Trojan War look like a water-balloon fight."**

**"Bad," I repeated.**

Athena sighed in frustration

**"And you, Percy Jackson, would be the first to feel Zeus's wrath."**

**It started to rain.**

"Talk about good timing it just makes what Chiron said that much more ominous" Nico said

"Yes well we all agree Zeus would be a much better god of theatre" hades stated

Zeus glared but everyone ignored him which just made him grumble all the more about stupid older brothers

** Volleyball players stopped their game and stared in stunned silence at the sky.**

**_I _****had brought this storm to Half-Blood Hill. Zeus was punishing the whole camp because of me. I was furious.**

"Now there no way Percy would refuse a quest" Nico said

Theseus sighed he now was sure he had figured out his brothers fatal flaw and it was definitely the worst one a demigod could have and he had a horrible sinking feeling in his stomach as he thought of it

**"So I have to find the stupid bolt," I said. "And return it to Zeus."**

**"What better peace offering," Chiron said, "than to have the son of Poseidon return Zeus's property?"**

"He does have a point I suppose"

**"If Poseidon doesn't have it, where is the thing?"**

**"I believe I know." Chiron's expression was grim. "Part of a prophecy I had years ago ... well, some of the lines make sense to me, now. But before I can say more, you must **

**officially take up the quest. You must seek the counsel of the Oracle."**

all the newer demigods shudder and Apollo leaned forward eager to know why the new oracle was

**"Why can't you tell me where the bolt is beforehand?"**

**"Because if I did, you would be too afraid to accept the challenge."**

**I swallowed. "Good reason."**

"Very good reason"

**"You agree then?"**

**I looked at Grover, who nodded encouragingly.**

**Easy for him. I was the one Zeus wanted to kill.**

"That hasn't changed" Percy stated with a sigh Zeus still disliked him even more so after he turned down Zeus's gift of godhood

**"All right," I said. "It's better than being turned into a dolphin."**

**"Then it's time you consulted the Oracle," Chiron said. "Go upstairs, Percy Jackson, to the attic. When you come back down, assuming you're still sane, we will talk more."**

"My oracle stays in the attic how terrible" Apollo said "and what do you mean still sane she's not that bad"

"Oh shut up and let Ares read brother or you won't find out anything"

**Four flights up, the stairs ended under a green trap door.**

**I pulled the cord. The door swung down, and a wooden ladder clattered into place.**

"Da da da da dadadadadada DA" Nico sang the jaws song Percy snickered and Thalia rolled her eyes

**I held my breath and climbed.**

**The attic was filled with Greek hero junk: armor stands covered in cobwebs; once-bright shields pitted with rust; old leather steamer trunks plastered with stickers saying **

**ITHAKA, CIRCE'S ISLE,**

Percy grimaced he hated that stupid island although he did feel bad for all the pain he had caused

**and LAND OF THE AMAZONS.**

Circe's island and the amazons Hylla came to his mind what a weird coincidence Percy thought

** One long table was stacked with glass jars filled with pickled ****_things_**—**severed hairy claws, huge yellow eyes, various other parts of monsters. A **

**dusty mounted trophy on the wall looked like a giant snake's head, but with horns and a full set of shark's teeth. The plaque read, HYDRA HEAD #1, WOODSTOCK, N.Y., 1969.**

"Gods I hate hydras the suck" Percy stated he'd had enough of his fair share of the creatures and hoped he wouldn't encounter another one

**By the window, sitting on a wooden tripod stool, was the most gruesome memento of all: a mummy. Not the wrapped-in-cloth kind, but a human female body shriveled to a **

**husk. She wore a tie-dyed sundress, lots of beaded necklaces, and a headband over long black hair. The skin of her face was thin and leathery over her skull, and her eyes were **

**glassy white slits, as if the real eyes had been replaced by marbles; she'd been dead a long, long time.**

Apollo had been getting paler and paler as Ares had read these words "no way what happened to my oracle she should have switched bodies" then his face became cold "ok" he said standing "which one of you cursed my oracle"

"Brother sit down this happens in the future nobody will know whether they've done it or not" Artemis said Apollo turned to look at her ready to argue when he saw sympathy in her eyes and he thought to himself of course shed be upset after all the oracle was a virgin girl much like her and her hunters so he sighed and sat back down in his chair Hermes gave him a reassuring pat on the back

**Looking at her sent chills up my back. And that was before she sat up on her stool and opened her mouth. A green mist poured from the mummy's mouth, coiling over the floor **

**in thick tendrils, hissing like twenty thousand snakes.**

"I'm glad Rachel's not like that" Jason whispered

and Percy smiled at him "yeah me too" Jason looked coldly back at him and turned away like he'd never spoken Thalia looked a bit peeved at her brother he was being so childish

**I stumbled over myself trying to get to the trap door, but it slammed shut. Inside my head, I heard a voice, slithering into one ear and coiling around my brain: ****_I am the spirit of _**

**_Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask._**

**I wanted to say, ****_No thanks, wrong door, just looking for the bath room._**

Everyone laughed and Percy blushed "what it was really creepy"

******But I forced myself to take a deep breath.**

**The mummy wasn't alive. She was some kind of gruesome receptacle for something else, the power that was now swirling around me in the green mist.**

**But its presence didn't feel evil, like my demonic math teacher Mrs. Dodds or the Minotaur. It felt more like the Three Fates I'd seen knitting the yarn outside the highway fruit **

**stand: ancient, powerful, and definitely ****_not _****human. But not particularly interested in killing me,**

"which is definitely a change for you isn't it Perce" Nico said teasingly while Percy pouted at him

** either. I got up the courage to ask, "What is my destiny?"**

"wow cliché much Percy"

"I didn't really know what else to ask" Percy defended himself

** The mist swirled more **

**thickly, collecting right in front of me and around the table with the pickled monster-part jars. Suddenly there were four men sitting around the table, playing cards. Their faces **

**became clearer. It was Smelly Gabe and his buddies.**

Everyone frowned and a few of them outright glared at the book at the mention of Gabe and Percy paled as he realized that everyone knew about Gabe and what he'd done he looked down great he had kept that a secret his whole life and now everyone here knew

**My fists clenched, though I knew this poker party couldn't be real. It was an illusion, made out of mist.**

**Gabe turned toward me and spoke in the rasping voice of the Oracle: ****_You shall go west, and face the god who has turned._**

Everyone looked at hades he was in the west

**His buddy on the right looked up and said in the same voice: ****_You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned._**

Zeus looked pleased at that line

**The guy on the left threw in two poker chips, then said: ****_You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend._**

Thalia Nico and Percy glared at the book although Percy's glare looked more sympathetic than Nico's or Thalia's

**Finally, Eddie, our building superior, delivered the worst line of all: ****_And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end._**

Zeus's smile faded as he tried to decipher what that meant

**The figures began to dissolve. At first I was too stunned to say anything, but as the mist retreated, coiling into a huge green serpent and slithering back into the mouth of the **

**mummy, I cried, "Wait! What do you mean? What friend? What will I fail to save?"**

"it won't tell you anything else besides that" Apollo said his voice still sad as he thought about his poor oracle

**The tail of the mist snake disappeared into the mummy's mouth. She reclined back against the wall. Her mouth closed tight, as if it hadn't been open in a hundred years. The **

**attic was silent again, abandoned, nothing but a room full of mementos.**

**I got the feeling that I could stand here until I had cob webs, too, and I wouldn't learn anything else.**

"yup just as I said" Apollo sighed

"oh cheer up would you we'll be able to change this once we figure out what happened to the poor girl" surprisingly Artemis Apollo stared at his twin that was the first time she had ever tried to cheer him up and he smiled blindingly at her

Artemis rolled her eyes but it was clear she was happy yes she hated men and her brother was a bit of a man whore as they put it but it was so unnatural to see him depressed and it pulled at her heart strings a bit when he wasn't smiling even if it meant he made unbearable jokes or did stupid pranks it was better than him wallowing around and looking sad.

**My audience with the Oracle was over.**

**"Well?" Chiron asked me.**

**I slumped into a chair at the pinochle table. "She said I would retrieve what was stolen."**

"Chiron's going to ask for the whole prophecy" Thalia said

**Grover sat forward, chewing excitedly on the remains of a Diet Coke can. "That's great!"**

**"What did the Oracle say ****_exactly?" _****Chiron pressed. "This is important."**

"See"

"No one argued with you Thals" Percy said

**My ears were still tingling from the reptilian voice. "She ... she said I would go west and face a god who had turned. I would retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned."**

**"I knew it," Grover said.**

**Chiron didn't look satisfied. "Anything else?"**

**I didn't want to tell him.**

**What friend would betray me? I didn't have that many.**

Now you do Thalia said throwing an arm around his shoulder and Nico smiled and di the same

Yeah Percy agreed I guess I do

**And the last line—I would fail to save what mattered most. What kind of Oracle would send me on a quest and tell me, ****_Oh, by the way, you'll fail_**

"Don't take it too harshly the prophecies can mean many things" Apollo said smartly

"Ya I know now" Percy said but Apollo ignored him

**How could I confess that?**

**"No," I said. "That's about it."**

**He studied my face. "Very well, Percy. But know this: the Oracle's words often have double meanings. Don't dwell on them too much. The truth is not always clear until events **

**come to pass."**

"See" Apollo said smiling "Chiron agrees with me"

"Well actually it would be you agree with Chiron seeing as how this book was already written" Hermes said

"Yeah but were in the past so techniquely I said it first so he agrees with me"

"But in this particular occurrence…"

"Nobody cares" Artemis interrupted

**I got the feeling he knew I was holding back something bad, and he was trying to make me feel better.**

"Knowing Chiron he probably was"

**"Okay," I said, anxious to change topics. "So where do I go? Who's this god in the west?"**

**"Ah, think, Percy," Chiron said. "If Zeus and Poseidon weaken each other in a war, who stands to gain?"**

Nico frowned knowing where this was going and hades looked slightly offended

**"Somebody else who wants to take over?" I guessed.**

**"Yes, quite. Someone who harbors a grudge, who has been unhappy with his lot since the world was divided eons ago, whose kingdom would grow powerful with the deaths of **

**millions. Someone who hates his brothers for forcing him into an oath to have no more children, an oath that both of them have now broken."**

"Oh come on just because that happened doesn't mean I'd want to take my brothers stupid bolt"

"It's not stupid"

**I thought about my dreams, the evil voice that had spoken from under the ground. "Hades."**

"Seriously" Nico stated "it wasn't my father! why is he always blamed?"

"Well in the future he's not so nice" Percy said Nico glared at him and Percy held up his hand "its true and you know it"

Nico sighed it was a bit true but that didn't mean his father should be blamed

**Chiron nodded. "The Lord of the Dead is the only possibility."**

"I'm not the only possibility there is one other" Zeus shot hades a warning glance and hades sighed their father was another suspect, but he really hoped it was himself in this case it was better than it being dear old dad. That just meant that an even bigger war was brewing.

**A scrap of aluminum dribbled out of Grover's mouth. "Whoa, wait. Wh-what?"**

**"A Fury came after Percy," Chiron reminded him. "She watched the young man until she was sure of his identity, then tried to kill him. Furies obey only one lord: Hades."**

"That is an issue. Why would I send my furies after you unless I knew it was old seaweed breaths son?" hades said to himself he had a feeling something else was going on and he wasn't the only one Athena was thinking hard the pieces weren't fitting and she had a feeling that it was neither Poseidon nor hades

**"Yes, but—but Hades hates ****_all _****heroes," Grover protested. "Especially if he has found out Percy is a son of Poseidon..."**

**"A hellhound got into the forest," Chiron continued.**

"But that had to be summoned by someone in the camp" Nico said he had the feeling Chiron was trying to convince himself just as much as he was trying to convince Percy and Grover

**"Those can only be summoned from the Fields of Punishment, and it had to be summoned by someone within the camp. Hades must have a spy here. He must suspect Poseidon **

**will try to use Percy to clear his name. Hades would very much like to kill this young half-blood before he can take on the quest."**

**"Great," I muttered. "That's two major gods who want to kill me."**

"Man those were the days only 2 gods now I have more than half the council who wouldn't mind seeing me dead" Percy said nonchalantly

"You bring it on yourself Perce"

**"But a quest to ..." Grover swallowed. "I mean, couldn't the master bolt be in some place like Maine? Maine's very nice this time of year."**

Hestia laughed a bit at that, poor satyr they did hate underground and you didn't get much father underground than the underworld

**"Hades sent a minion to steal the master bolt," Chiron insisted. "He hid it in the Underworld, knowing full well that Zeus would blame Poseidon.**

"How the heck would I know Zeus would blame Poseidon as far as I can tell it could go either way after all he doesn't exactly trust either of us" hades complained he didn't like being blamed for something he didn't do

"He makes a good point" Poseidon states

**I don't pretend to under stand the Lord of the Dead's motives perfectly, **

"Of course not who could understand him he's crazy" Demeter stated hades glared at her

**or why he chose this time to start a war,**

"like I said crazy and in need of more wheat" hades rolled his eyes at her and she called him crazy

**but one thing is certain. Percy must go to the Underworld, find the master bolt, and reveal the truth."**

**A strange fire burned in my stomach. The weirdest thing was: it wasn't fear. It was anticipation. The desire for revenge.**

"Percy you were seriously thinking that! He's a god you're a demigod and you're only twelve I think revenge is a bit out of your reach at that point"

"Well I wasn't exactly thinking"

"Yeah that's obvious" Thalia stated

** Hades had tried to kill me three times so far, with the **

**Fury, the Minotaur, and the hellhound.**

"Yes and yes and no" Nico stated "so only two times really is that so bad"

Percy stared at Nico and said "um yes"

**It was his fault my mother had disappeared in a flash of light. Now he was trying to frame me and my dad for a theft we hadn't committed.**

**I was ready to take him on.**

Oh my god my little brother is insane was what both Orion and Theseus thought they were definitely going to have to have a talk with him about self-preservation

**Besides, if my mother was in the Underworld …**

**Whoa, boy, said the small part of my brain that was still sane. You're a kid. Hades is a god.**

"Hasn't stopped you from doing stupid stuff so far why stop now" Thalia said sarcastically

Percy just smiled and leaned back onto the couch "my thoughts exactly"

Thalia punched him "I was being sarcastic"

**Grover was trembling. He'd started eating pinochle cards like potato chips.**

**The poor guy needed to complete a quest with me so he could get his searcher's license, whatever that was, but how could I ask him to do this quest, especially when the Oracle **

**said I was destined to fail? This was suicide.**

"Yet here you are alive and well"

Alive yes well not so much Percy thought to himself he didn't know if he'd ever be well again not after being in Tartarus

**"Look, if we know it's Hades," I told Chiron, "why can't we just tell the other gods? Zeus or Poseidon could go down to the Underworld and bust some heads."**

**"Suspecting and knowing are not the same," Chiron said. **

"And yet he seems ready to make accusations against my dad" Nico stated annoyed Percy patted he on the back "Chiron was trying to be logical and you have to admit based off everything your dad is a legit suspect" Percy said Nico huffed but didn't respond

**"Besides, even if the other gods suspect Hades—and I imagine Poseidon does—they couldn't retrieve the bolt them selves. Gods cannot cross each other's territories except by **

**invitation. That is another ancient rule. Heroes, on the other hand, have certain privileges. They can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as they're bold enough and strong **

**enough to do it.**

"If Chiron would have known what you would do with that information he never would have told you." Thalia said

"Come on Thals it all worked out in the end"

"It still surprises me that you haven't been struck down yet"

"Meh they still need me"

The gods frowned at that did their children really think that hey only used them as tools.

**No god can be held responsible for a hero's actions. Why do you think the gods always operate through humans?"**

**"You're saying I'm being used."**

"Nothing new there" Percy said a bit harshly

The gods flinched especially Poseidon

**"I'm saying it's no accident Poseidon has claimed you now. It's a very risky gamble, but he's in a desperate situation. He needs you."**

**My dad needs me.**

"Honestly Percy I would have claimed you anyway even if the situation wasn't so dire"

Percy ignored his father he still felt a bit sore about his first quest and what his dad thought of him

**Emotions rolled around inside me like bits of glass in a kaleidoscope. I didn't know whether to feel resentful or grateful or happy or angry. Poseidon had ignored me for twelve **

**years. Now suddenly he needed me.**

**I looked at Chiron. "You've known I was Poseidon's son all along, haven't you?"**

**"I had my suspicions. As I said ... I've spoken to the Oracle, too."**

**I got the feeling there was a lot he wasn't telling me about his prophecy, **

"A new great prophecy I'm assuming" said Apollo all the newer demigods nodded

**but I decided I couldn't worry about that right now. After all, I was holding back information too.**

**"So let me get this straight," I said. "I'm supposed go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead."**

**"Check," Chiron said.**

**"Find the most powerful weapon in the universe."**

**"Check."**

**"And get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice, in ten days."**

"That's got to be one of the easiest quests I've ever been on" Percy said

"That's easy" hazel stated

"Compared to the shit I'm going through right now that's a piece of cake"

Hazel wanted to ask what he meant so badly but the fates had already told them that they couldn't know

**"That's about right."**

**I looked at Grover, who gulped down the ace of hearts.**

**"Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?" he asked weakly.**

**"You don't have to go," I told him. "I can't ask that of you.**

**"Oh ..." He shifted his hooves. "No ... it's just that satyrs and underground places ... well..."**

**He took a deep breath, then stood, brushing the shredded cards and aluminum bits off his T-shirt. "You saved my life, Percy. If ... if you're serious about wanting me along, I **

**won't let you down."**

"What a brave satyr" Hestia said smiling sweetly

**I felt so relieved I wanted to cry,**

"Wimp" Ares muttered

**though I didn't think that would be very heroic. Grover was the only friend I'd ever had for longer than a few months. I wasn't sure what good a satyr could do against the **

**forces of the dead, but I felt better knowing he'd be with me.**

"It's always better when you have someone whom you know you can trust it's the gift of a friend" Hestia sighed

"Isn't that a Demi Lovato song when we come from?"

Percy shrugged "I've been on two quests in the span of 2 weeks so I haven't exactly had time to catch up with the latest music "

"I'm pretty sure it's a year old" she said thoughtfully

"No offense Thals but why does it matter" Nico asked

"I don't know it just popped in my head" she answered

**"All the way, G-man." I turned to Chiron. "So where do we go? The Oracle just said to go west."**

**"The entrance to the Underworld is always in the west. It moves from age to age, just like Olympus. Right now, of course, it's in America."**

**"Where?"**

**Chiron looked surprised. "I thought that would be obvious enough. The entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles."**

**"Oh," I said. "Naturally. So we just get on a plane—"**

"No" Poseidon said loudly "that would be bad idea"

"Ya especially considering the mood dads in right now you'd be fried"

"Thanks I needed that mental image" Percy replied

"You're the retard who suggested getting on a plane"

"I was new to this"

"Excuses excuses" Percy opened his mouth to argue back but stopped he really wasn't in the mood to fight with his cousin. Thalia was shocked when Percy let her win it wasn't normal she had been expecting a good natured cousinly fight but he'd backed down then she sighed something must have happened in the future to change him and she didn't like it one bit.

**"No!" Grover shrieked. "Percy, what are you thinking? Have you ever been on a plane in your life?"**

**I shook my head, feeling embarrassed. My mom had never taken me anywhere by plane. She'd always said we didn't have the money. Besides, her parents had died in a plane **

**crash.**

Glares were thrown at Zeus and he just sighed and stated "haven't done it yet"

**"Percy, think," Chiron said. "You are the son of the Sea God. Your father's bitterest rival is Zeus, Lord of the Sky. Your mother knew better than to trust you in an airplane. You **

**would be in Zeus's domain. You would never come down again alive."**

**Overhead, lightning crackled. Thunder boomed.**

"Look dad agrees" Thalia said

"Yay" Percy cheered in mock joy

**"Okay," I said, determined not to look at the storm. "So, I'll travel overland."**

**"That's right," Chiron said. "Two companions may accompany you. Grover is one. The other has already volunteered, if you will accept her help."**

"Gee wonder whose stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like that" Thalia said sarcastically

Percy stared at her "ok this is getting really weird"

"What is" Thalia asked Percy gestured to Ares to read

**"Gee," I said, feigning surprise. "Who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?"**

"Ya that's what 5 times now I've said the same thing as you! Great I'm becoming an idiot"

"hey!" Percy said

"just kidding" Thalia smiled at Percy

"there's always a little bit of truth when someone says just kidding" Nico said cheerfully

"gee thanks Nico" Percy stated

**The air shimmered behind Chiron.**

**Annabeth became visible, stuffing her Yankees cap into her back pocket.**

**"I've been waiting a long time for a quest, seaweed brain," she said. "Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from **

**messing up."**

"She has to do that a lot" Thalia said

"No arguments there" Percy stated he knew that was true if it wasn't for Annabeth the world would be I major jeopardy right now

**"If you do say so yourself," I said. "I suppose you have a plan, wise girl?"**

**Her cheeks colored. "Do you want my help or not?"**

**The truth was, I did. I needed all the help I could get.**

**"A trio," I said. "That'll work."**

"Three is our lucky number it seems" Thalia stated

**"Excellent," Chiron said. "This afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own."**

"Yeah that was an eventful bus ride" Percy said remembering their encounter with the furies

**Lightning flashed. Rain poured down on the meadows that were never supposed to have violent weather.**

**"No time to waste," Chiron said. "I think you should all get packing."**

"That's it who's next" Ares said finally glad to get done reading that chapter sucked there was no violence at all

Hades sighed "I'll read next" he said "might as well get it over with."

AN: that's the end of that chapter now I'm excited were finally in the quest part of the book which means it gets a lot more interesting from here on out I hope you enjoy please review they make my day!


	13. Chapter 13

AN: Hey guys I'm back! Damn this chapter took me a long time to write. I really want to do Percy and the other characters justice. Anyway this is the first chapter where Percy's curse comes up so any feedback would be nice on that, and thanks for all your wonderfully amazing reviews they made me happy and one of the guests read my mind with his/her review because we had the same idea! I always love it when that happens. Anyway I'll be using the idea very soon so I hope it live up to your expectations. I did have one concern I would like to answer. That Percy was being too goofy for someone who was in Tartarus, but the way I see it Percy has had a long time to perfect hiding his emotions and I see him hiding it because he doesn't want to worry his friends, but don't worry it will slip out eventually! So now on with this chapter…

DISCLAIMER: my attempt to steal the rights from rick riordan failed miserably so sadly I still own nothing.

**I Ruin a Perfectly Good Bus," **Hades read in a bored voice

"Yeah back to the fun chapter titles" Apollo cheered.

Percy looked confused and turned to Thalia who mouthed back 'don't ask'

**It didn't take me long to pack. I decided to leave the Minotaur horn in my cabin, **

"I'd hope so. It would be pretty hard to carry around and it would probably get in the way" Theseus stated.

**which left me only an extra change of clothes and a toothbrush to stuff in a backpack Grover had found for me. **

"Only one extra pair of clothes for a week long quest, EWW!" Aphrodite squealed wrinkling her nose

**The camp store loaned me one hundred dollars in mortal money and twenty golden drachmas. These coins were as big as Girl Scout cookies and had images of various Greek gods stamped on one side and the Empire State Building on the other. The ancient mortal drachmas had been silver, Chiron told us, but Olympians never used less than pure gold. **

"Then why don't romans use drachmas" hazel asked

"The romans thought it cost too much to use real gold and they didn't like the size of the drachmas either so they decided to change our form of currency to Denarii instead." Athena answered

**Chiron said the coins might come in handy for non-mortal transactions - whatever that meant. He gave Annabeth and me each a canteen of nectar and a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia squares, to be used only in emergencies, if we were seriously hurt.**

"Styx you guys are lucky" Perseus said "in our time you couldn't get access to that stuff unless it was gifted to you by a god."

**It was god food, Chiron reminded us. It would cure us of almost any injury, but it was lethal to mortals. Too much of it would make a half-blood very, very feverish. An overdose would burn us up, literally. **

**Annabeth was bringing her magic Yankees cap, which she told me had been a twelfth-birthday present from her mom. **

Athena smiled brightly yes Annabeth must be very special indeed

**She carried a book on famous classical architecture, written in Ancient Greek, to read when she got bored, **

"Like mother like daughter" Poseidon said

"What's wrong with that, besides I feel sorry for Percy having a father like you?"

Percy raised his eyebrows wow Athena's being slightly nice to me… weird he thought.

Thalia noticed and whispered "its cause your 5 year old self wore her down so now she has a soft spot for you"

Percy looked at her incredulously "five year old self what..."

"I'll explain later" Thalia cut him off.

**and a long bronze knife, hidden in her shirt sleeve. I was sure the knife would get us busted the first time we went through a metal detector. **

"Nope" Athena said "celestial bronze doesn't register on metal detectors" she said

"So only Nico would get caught then" Percy stated

Nico smiled "not a chance! See, I don't have to go through metal detectors I can just shadow travel in" he said Percy stared at him

"Holy Zeus (Zeus looked offended about being used as a curse word and hades looked at him with a look that said welcome to my world)) how did I never think of this before"

"Think of what"

"Dude you could totally shadow travel us into a concert or something how cool would that be"

Thalia perked up at this "Greenday" she said hopefully

"Simple Plan would be cool too" Percy stated

"3 days grace is better" Nico commented

"Or all three!" they said together high fiving

"Isn't that like stealing in a way though" Hestia said

Thalia and Nico looked down a bit disappointed at this but Percy just smiled at his aunt and said "I wouldn't call it stealing more like a thank you gift after all we have saved their lives multiple times even if they don't know it" Thalia and Nico perked up at this

Hestia looked at their hopeful faces and sighed "well if you put it that way I suppose it's alright"

"Yes!" all three cousins let out a cheer

Percy turned to Jason and hazel "you can cheer too we wouldn't leave you behind" hazel smiled and Jason looked away from Percy and Percy sighed.

**Grover wore his fake feet and his pants to pass as human. He wore a green rasta-style cap, because when it rained his curly hair flattened and you could just see the tips of his horns. His bright orange backpack was full of scrap metal and apples to snack on. **

"The apples were fun to play with" Percy stated fondly

Thalia looked at him oddly and he gestured toward the book "you'll see"

**In his pocket was a set of reed pipes his daddy goat had carved for him, even though he only knew two songs: Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 12 and Hilary Duff's "So Yesterday," both of which sounded pretty bad on reed pipes. **

Percy winced agreeing with his past self "thank the gods he's gotten better at playing"

**We waved good-bye to the other campers, took one last look at the strawberry fields, the ocean, and the Big House, then hiked up Half-Blood Hill to the tall pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus. **

Thalia grimaced and Percy smiled at her "don't sweat it Thalia that's in the past now." Thalia looked over at Percy's smiling face and  
nodded gods she missed him she thought to herself

**Chiron was waiting for us in his wheelchair. Next to him stood the surfer dude I'd seen when I was recovering in the sick room. According to Grover, the guy was the camp's head of security. He supposedly had eyes all over his body so he could never be surprised. **

Hazel smiled at Percy "now I know why you weren't all that surprised by the stuff at our camp you've got some pretty weird stuff at that camp of yours as well"

**Today, though, he was wearing a chauffeur's uniform, so I could only see extra peepers on his hands, face and neck. **

"I wonder if he has an eye on his tongue and if so how does he eat" Apollo questioned Artemis looked annoyed at her brother's stupid question and gestured for hades to keep reading to avoid discussing the pointless topic

**"This is Argus," Chiron told me. "He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things."**

"Terrible pun Chiron, absolutely terrible" Thalia said fondly

**I heard footsteps behind us. **

**Luke came running up the hill, carrying a pair of basketball shoes. **

Percy couldn't help a small grimace at the mention of Luke

**"Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you."**

**Annabeth blushed, the way she always did when Luke was around. **

Percy smiled fondly remembering that time it had been fun to tease her about that back then

**"Just wanted to say good luck," Luke told me. "And I thought ... Um, maybe you could use these."**

**He handed me the sneakers, which looked pretty normal. They even smelled kind of normal. **

Hermes sat up straighter after all he had a guess that they were probably a pair of his shoes

**Luke said, "Maia!"**

"Maia" Hermes said again to keep his shoes from sprouting wings

"You used your mother's name to start your shoes" Zeus said looking at Hermes his eyes oddly soft Hermes blushed a bit but nodded

"Wimp" Ares said only to be hit in the head by Hermes now fully formed caduceus. Hermes smiled and shrunk it back into pager form Ares just glared at Hermes

**White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels, startling me so much, I dropped them. The shoes flapped around on the ground until the wings folded up and disappeared. **

**"Awesome!" Grover said. **

Hermes smiled proudly

**Luke smiled. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days... " His expression turned sad. **

**I didn't know what to say. It was cool enough that Luke had come to say good-bye. I'd been afraid he might resent me for getting so much attention the last few days. But here he was giving me a magic gift... It made me blush almost as much as Annabeth. **

This made most of the gods and demigods snort or look at the now blushing Percy in amusement

**"Hey, man," I said. "Thanks."**

**"Listen, Percy..." Luke looked uncomfortable. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just ... Kill some monsters for me, okay?"**

Thalia looked down sadly and Percy bumped her with his elbow to let her know he felt the same way and she bumped him back good naturedly

**We shook hands. Luke patted Grover's head between his horns, then gave a good-bye hug to Annabeth, who looked like she might pass out. **

Jason looked amused after all the Annabeth he remembered was a bit harsh and definitely didn't lose her cool like that it was nice to know that she was normal like him when it came to crushes

**After Luke was gone, I told her, "You're hyperventilating."**

**"Am not."**

**"You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?"**

Percy was laughing quietly as this was read remembering the look on his girlfriend's face

**"Oh ... Why do I want to go anywhere with you, Percy?"**

"Because you love him" Aphrodite said or squealed more like. Percy just blushed

**She stomped down the other side of the hill, where a white SUV waited on the shoulder of the road. Argus followed, jingling his car keys.**

**I picked up the flying shoes and had a sudden bad feeling. I looked at Chiron. "I won't be able to use these, will I?"**

"Nope sorry son" Poseidon said

Percy just shrugged "it was a good thing I couldn't" he whispered to himself Thalia looked at him in confusion and Percy just gestured to the book

**He shook his head. "Luke meant well, Percy. But taking to the air ... That would not be wise for you."**

Zeus however smirked "you could though if you wanted to"

"I'll pass" Percy said bluntly Zeus looked slightly shocked he hadn't been expecting a response

**I nodded, disappointed, but then I got an idea. "Hey, Grover. You want a magic item?"**

**His eyes lit up. "Me?"**

Hestia smiled Grover had such a wonderful kind heart and Percy was just as sweet she thought gazing at the hero who was laughing with his cousins. He seemed so happy, but Hestia could tell he'd been through a lot, too much for a boy his age because even though he was smiling his eyes told another story.

**Pretty soon we'd laced the sneakers over his fake feet, and the world's first flying goat boy was ready for launch. **

The demigods all laughed and Percy turned a bit red he was beginning to dislike being here for this

**"Maia!" he shouted. **

"Maia" Hermes shouted

**He got off the ground okay, but then fell over sideways so his backpack dragged through the grass. The winged shoes kept bucking up and down like tiny broncos. **

"**Practice," Chiron called after him. "You just need practice!"**

"Yeah a lot of practice" Nico snorted

"**Aaaaa!" Grover went flying sideways down the hill like a possessed lawn mower, heading toward the van. **

**Before I could follow, Chiron caught my arm. "I should have trained you better, Percy," he said. "If only I had more time. Hercules, Jason - they all got more training."**

Everyone frowned they had been so excited about everything they hadn't realized how little training Percy had gotten. He had only been at the camp for a few weeks and it was woefully inadequate especially when going on a quest to the underworld

**"That's okay. I just wish-"**

**I stopped myself because I was about to sound like a brat. I was wishing my dad had given me a cool magic item to help on the quest, something as good as Luke's flying shoes, or Annabeth's invisible cap. **

"That's not going to make you sound like a brat its natural" Hestia said kindly Percy smiled at her

**"What am I thinking?" Chiron cried. "I can't let you get away without this."**

"You get your sword now" Thalia said "I've always wondered how you got it"

**He pulled a pen from his coat pocket and handed it to me. It was an ordinary disposable ballpoint, black ink, removable cap. Probably cost thirty cents. **

"It costs a bit more than that" Poseidon said chuckling and Percy blushed a bit

**"Gee, " I said. "Thanks."**

**"Percy, that's a gift from your father. I've kept it for years, not knowing you were who I was waiting for. But the prophecy is clear to me now. You are the one."**

**I remembered the field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, when I'd vaporized Mrs. Dodds. Chiron had thrown me a pen that turned into a sword. Could this be...?**

Hercules sat up straighter and narrowed his eyes this sounded very familiar although his sword took a different form

**I took off the cap, and the pen grew longer and heavier in my hand. In half a second, I held a shimmering bronze sword with a double-edged blade, a leather-wrapped grip, and a flat hilt riveted with gold studs. **

Hercules theory was proved right and he scowled at Percy such a ridiculous demigod didn't deserve his sword

**It was the first weapon that actually felt balanced in my hand. **

**"The sword has a long and tragic history that we need not go into," Chiron told me. "Its name is ****_Anaklusmos_****."**

**"'Riptide, '" I translated, surprised the Ancient Greek came so easily. **

"You have my sword" Hercules stated coldly

Percy looked toward Hercules and nodded "yup"

"You don't deserve to wield it" Hercules said angrily

"According to Zoë Nightshade I deserve to wield it more than you" Percy said back his tone venomous

Both Hercules and Artemis reeled back in shock "how dare you" Hercules said and he pulled out his sword Percy stood up and did the same. Hercules just laughed "you think you can beat me"

"I don't think I know" Percy said coolly his expression was dangerous

Hercules raised his sword to attack, but Perseus Theseus and Orion stepped between the two. Perseus got Hercules calmed down while Theseus handled Percy "what are you doing" Percy said angrily he was so looking forward to avenging Zoë

"I'm saving you! You idiot! He would have killed you"

"No he wouldn't have"

Theseus sat Percy down between his cousins again and he shook his head at Percy "your still too innocent and naïve" he stated and then turned and walked away Percy glared at his half-brother innocent naïve ha he wished but after all the shit he's been through no way.

Thalia leaned in and whispered "thanks Percy for trying"

He smiled at her and sighed "don't worry by the end of this series hell definitely get what's coming to him"

Hades started to read again when everyone was calmed down and Poseidon sent a quick thanks to the three heroes and a scolding glance at Percy who just looked away still a bit angry and Poseidon sighed what was he going to do with Percy

**"Use it only for emergencies," Chiron said, "and only against monsters. No hero should harm mortals unless absolutely necessary, of course, but this sword wouldn't harm them in any case."**

"Good thing too or else we wouldn't have a new oracle" Percy said smiling slightly Thalia and Nico looked at him then at each other and shrugged for having been on a lot of quests with Percy it was surprising how much they didn't know

**I looked at the wickedly sharp blade. "What do you mean it wouldn't harm mortals? How could it not?"**

"Celestial bronze will pass through them harmlessly" Athena stated

"Yeah we know owl face"

Athena glared at Poseidon although her cheeks were a bit red from being caught talking to a book

**"The sword is celestial bronze. Forged by the Cyclopes, tempered in the heart of Mount Etna, cooled in the River Lethe. It's deadly to monsters, to any creature from the Underworld, provided they don't kill you first. **

"Yes that wouldn't be good" Poseidon stated

**But the blade will pass through mortals like an illusion. They simply are not important enough for the blade to kill. **

**And I should warn you: as a demigod, you can be killed by either celestial or normal weapons. You are twice as vulnerable."**

"Oh joy" Percy said sarcastically

**"Good to know."**

**"Now recap the pen."**

**I touched the pen cap to the sword tip and instantly Riptide shrank to a ballpoint pen again. I tucked it in my pocket, a little nervous, because I was famous for losing pens at school. **

"You can't lose it" Poseidon said to Percy then he turned back to the book

"I know" Percy said quietly but Nico caught it and snorted

**"You can't," Chiron said. **

**"Can't what?"**

**"Lose the pen," he said. "It is enchanted. It will always reappear in your pocket. Try it."**

**I was wary, but I threw the pen as far as I could down the hill and watched it disappear in the grass. **

**"It may take a few moments, " Chiron told me. "Now check your pocket."**

**Sure enough, the pen was there. **

"I wish mine did that" Nico said and the other demigods agreed it would make things a whole lot easier

**"Okay, that's extremely cool," I admitted. "But what if a mortal sees me pulling out a sword?"**

"The mist…"

"Yes I know" Percy said cutting off Athena who glared at him

**Chiron smiled. "Mist is a powerful thing, Percy."**

**"Mist?"**

"**Yes. Read ****_The Iliad_****. It's full of references to the stuff. **

"Annabeth tried to get me to read that"

"How'd you get out of that one" Thalia asked

"Spark notes"

"Nice" she high fived him

**Whenever divine or monstrous elements mix with the mortal world, they generate Mist, which obscures the vision of humans. You will see things just as they are, being a half-blood, but humans will interpret things quite differently. Remarkable, really, the lengths to which humans will go to fit things into their version of reality."**

"Yup and I both love and hate it" Percy stated thinking about the huge mess he had gotten into on his first quest

**I put Riptide back in my pocket. **

**For the first time, the quest felt real. I was actually leaving Half-Blood Hill. I was heading west with no adult supervision, no backup plan, not even a cell phone. (Chiron said cell phones were traceable by monsters; if we used one, it would be worse than sending up a flare.)**

"Don't you have one now though" Nico asked

"Ya I had one for emergencies but it disappeared sometime between my abduction from camp half-blood and my arrival at camp Jupiter"

** I had no weapon stronger than a sword to fight off monsters and reach the Land of the Dead. **

"You sword is all you need really" Theseus said

"Yeah that and some kick ass fish powers" Nico added

**"Chiron..." I said. "When you say the gods are immortal... I mean, there was a time before them, right?"**

"Wow Percy you really have a bad habit of digging up the past" Nico stated

"Don't you think it's ironic though that he asked that" Thalia added

Percy shrugged "I guess so"

**"Four ages before them, actually. The Time of the Titans was the Fourth Age, sometimes called the Golden Age, which is definitely a misnomer. This, the time of Western civilization and the rule of Zeus, is the Fifth Age."**

"Our age is so much better and awesomer" Apollo cried out

"Awesomer isn't a word"

"Aww come on lil sis don't be a buzz kill just go with it"

"Idiot and don't call me lil sis" she shouted

**"So what was it like ... Before the gods?"**

"Words cannot describe the horrificness of that time" Hestia stated softly

**Chiron pursed his lips. "Even I am not old enough to remember that, child, but I know it was a time of darkness and savagery for mortals. Kronos, the lord of the Titans, called his reign the Golden Age because men lived innocent and free of all knowledge. **

"Yup definitely a misnomer if I've ever heard one"

**But that was mere propaganda. The Titan king cared nothing for your kind except as appetizers or a source of cheap entertainment. It was only in the early reign of Lord Zeus, when Prometheus the good Titan brought fire to mankind, that your species began to progress, and even then Prometheus was branded a radical thinker. Zeus punished him severely, as you may recall. **

Everyone looked at Zeus who shrugged "okay so not my brightest moment I'll admit but still he broke my rules" he said sounding like a pouting little kid

**Of course, eventually the gods warmed to humans, and Western civilization was born."**

**"But the gods can't die now, right? I mean, as long as Western civilization is alive, they're alive. So... Even if I failed, nothing could happen so bad it would mess up everything, right?"**

Thalia and Nico and hazel burst out laughing even Jason found himself smiling Percy just blushed "what I was nervous after all I'm know for screwing up"

This sobered Thalia up real fast and she hit Percy in the back of the head and said "don't say that about yourself"

**Chiron gave me a melancholy smile. "No one knows how long the Age of the West will last, Percy. The gods are immortal, yes. But then, so were the Titans. **

**They still exist, locked away in their various prisons, forced to endure endless pain and punishment, reduced in power, but still very much alive. **

"Ya they are definitely still alive" Percy said quietly remembering his various encounters with them

**May the Fates forbid that the gods should ever suffer such a doom, or that we should ever return to the darkness and chaos of the past. **

"Not with Percy around we won't" Nico said happily the gods stared at Nico then at Percy what did he mean by that

**All we can do, child, is follow our destiny."**

**"Our destiny... Assuming we know what that is."**

"You make a good point cousin"

"Ya it does tend to happen once in a blue moon" Percy replied back laughing

**"Relax," Chiron told me. "Keep a clear head. And remember, you may be about to prevent the biggest war in human history."**

"But no pressure or anything" Apollo said

**"Relax, " I said. "I'm very relaxed."**

"Ya we can tell" Hermes stated

**When I got to the bottom of the hill, I looked back. Under the pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus, Chiron was now standing in full horse-man form, holding his bow high in salute. Just your typical summer-camp send-off by your typical centaur. **

"Yup happens all the time" Thalia said

"Unless your me and you sneak out of camp all the time" Percy said with a smile

**Argus drove us out of the countryside and into western Long Island. It felt weird to be on a highway again, Annabeth and Grover sitting next to me as if we were normal carpoolers. After two weeks at Half-Blood Hill, the real world seemed like a fantasy. I found myself staring at every McDonald's, every kid in the back of his parents' car, every billboard and shopping mall.**

"Weirdo" Nico stated

"Speak for yourself oddball" Percy shot back

"Touché" Nico conceded no point denying it he thought

**"So far so good," I told Annabeth. "Ten miles and not a single monster."**

"Nice job kelp head just jinxed it" Thalia said rolling her eyes Percy just smiled sheepishly

**She gave me an irritated look. "It's bad luck to talk that way, seaweed brain."**

**"Remind me again - why do you hate me so much?"**

"Don't worry dear she doesn't hate you. The complete opposite in fact" Aphrodite said jumping up and down in her throne at the prospect of what a great love story this would be

**"I don't hate you."**

**"Could've fooled me."**

**She folded her cap of invisibility. "Look ... We're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals."**

"That doesn't matter" Thalia said "look at me Percy and Nico were like sibling and our parents don't get along at all." The brothers looked at each other and then at their children Hestia smiled maybe those three could take a page or two out of the demigods book and get a long at least a little bit.

**"Why?"**

**She sighed. "How many reasons do you want? One time my mom caught Poseidon with his girlfriend in Athena's temple, which is ****_hugely_**** disrespectful. **

"Ok she was not my girlfriend"

"Then what was she" Athena asked eyebrows raised

"My lover"

"Wow big difference"

"There is let me enlighten you…"

"Wow! Wow! You can stop there we have children with innocent ears present" Percy said the two looked at him to see him covering Nico's ears and Nico just stared up at them with big blue eyes "and" said Percy "your my dad I really don't need to hear this it's weird." Hades continued to read and Percy let go of Nico's ears

**Another time, Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron god for the city of Athens. Your dad created some stupid saltwater spring for his gift. **

"It wasn't stupid" Poseidon pouted

**My mom created the olive tree. The people saw that her gift was better, so they named the city after her."**

"Honestly I just think it was because Athens sounded cooler than poeidonville or whatever else Poseidon name they could come up with" Percy stated Apollo and Hermes both laughed at that and Apollo winked at Percy as if to say nice one

**"They must really like olives."**

**"Oh, forget it."**

**"Now, if she'd invented pizza – ****_that_**** I could understand."**

"Yeah Athena why didn't you invent pizza" Apollo questioned

Athena glared at Apollo who simply smiled in return

**"I said, forget it!"**

**In the front seat, Argus smiled. He didn't say anything, but one blue eye on the back of his neck winked at me. **

"See look Argus" agrees Apollo said

**Traffic slowed us down in Queens. By the time we got into Manhattan it was sunset and starting to rain. **

**Argus dropped us at the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side, not far from my mom and Gabe's apartment. Taped to a mailbox was a soggy flyer with my picture on it: HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY?**

"Not good" Poseidon said

**I ripped it down before Annabeth and Grover could notice. **

"I'm sure they still noticed"

**Argus unloaded our bags, made sure we got our bus tickets, then drove away, the eye on the back of his hand opening to watch us as he pulled out of the parking lot. **

"You know having all those eyes must make it really easy to parallel park" Percy stated Thalia raised her eyebrows at him and he shrugged "what I find it incredibly difficult to parallel park ok"

**I thought about how close I was to my old apartment. On a normal day, my mom would be home from the candy store by now. Smelly Gabe was probably up there right now, playing poker, not even missing her. **

Percy's good mood vanished at the mention of that thing

**Grover shouldered his backpack. He gazed down the street in the direction I was looking. "You want to know why she married him, Percy?"**

"I hate when he does that" Percy huffed

**I stared at him. "Were you reading my mind or something?"**

"Nope just your emotions" Thalia said

**"Just your emotions. " He shrugged. "Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can do that.**

"Ha ha Thals you think like goat boy" nico laughed

"Shut up"

**You were thinking about your mom and your stepdad, right?"**

**I nodded, wondering what else Grover might've forgotten to tell me. **

**"Your mom married Gabe for you," Grover told me. "You call him 'Smelly,' but you've got no idea. The guy has this aura... Yuck. I can smell him from here. I can smell traces of him on you, and you haven't been near him for a week."**

"Bet that doesn't make you happy" Thalia said Percy just shot her a look that said you think

**"Thanks," I said. "Where's the nearest shower?"**

**"You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn't lived with him every summer, you probably would've been found by monsters a long time ago. Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must've loved you a lot to put up with that guy - if that makes you feel any better."**

"Such a selfless woman." Artemis said "she would have been a wonderful hunter"

"I'm glad she's not" said Percy "otherwise she wouldn't have had me"

"Ya then the gods would be screwed"

**It didn't, but I forced myself not to show it. I'll see her again, I thought. She isn't gone. **

Percy smiled as he thought of his mom. Nope she wasn't gone but man did he miss her and he felt awful. What she had gone through while he was gone?

**I wondered if Grover could still read my emotions, mixed up as they were. I was glad he and Annabeth were with me, but I felt guilty that I hadn't been straight with them. I hadn't told them the real reason I'd said yes to this crazy quest. **

**The truth was, I didn't care about retrieving Zeus's lightning bolt,**

"You should care boy" Zeus thundered Percy just rolled his eyes

**or saving the world, **

"Such a selfish boy" Artemis stated Percy looked down angrily she had no idea about him

**or even helping my father out of trouble. **

Poseidon winced a bit and looked down sadly

**The more I thought about it, I resented Poseidon for never visiting me, **

Poseidon flinched again

**never helping my mom, never even sending a lousy child-support check. He'd only claimed me because he needed a job done. **

"I know I'm not the me from the future but I can honestly say that's not true"

Percy wanted to apologize to his dad because they did get along well enough, but the truth was he didn't know exactly what Poseidon thought of him. Sometimes he seemed proud other times he seemed like he might doubt Percy and other times he didn't know what he was thinking so Percy just kept quiet.

**All I cared about was my mom. Hades had taken her unfairly, and Hades was going to give her back. **

"You have a lot of guts I'll give you that kid" hades said Percy smirked

**_You will be betrayed by one who calls you a friend_****, the Oracle whispered in my mind. ****_You will fail to save what matters most in the end. _**

**_Shut up_****, I told it. **

"The first sign of being crazy is talking to yourself" Nico stated

"Ya Nics I think we've already established that Percy's a bit off his rocker" Thalia replied

"All of the best people are" Percy said smiling as his cousins laughed

**The rain kept coming down. **

**We got restless waiting for the bus and decided to play some Hacky Sack with one of Grover's apples. Annabeth was unbelievable. She could bounce the apple off her knee, her elbow, her shoulder, whatever. **

"I see what you meant about the apple comment that would be fun I love hacky sack" Thalia said

"I've never even heard about hacky sack till now" hazel stated looking fascinated

"Don't worry well introduce you to all the great things of our time" Nico stated

"Ya the classic games like the floor is lava and hacky sack" Percy said

"Oh and rock band" Percy and Nico high fived at that

**I wasn't too bad myself. **

**The game ended when I tossed the apple toward Grover and it got too close to his mouth. In one mega goat bite, our Hacky Sack disappeared-core, stem, and all. **

Everyone laughed

**Grover blushed. He tried to apologize, but Annabeth and I were too busy cracking up. **

**Finally the bus came. As we stood in line to board, Grover started looking around, sniffing the air like he smelled his favorite school cafeteria delicacy-enchiladas.**

Poseidon sat up a bit more "monster" he stated looking nervously at the book hoping it wasn't anything too bad

**"What is it?" I asked.**

**"I don't know," he said tensely. "Maybe it's nothing."**

**But I could tell it wasn't nothing. I started looking over my shoulder, too.**

**I was relieved when we finally got on board and found seats together in the back of the bus. We stowed our backpacks. Annabeth kept slapping her Yankees cap nervously against her thigh. **

**As the last passengers got on, Annabeth clamped her hand onto my knee. "Percy."**

"What! What was it" Nico said

"Chill Nics this has already happened"

Nico flushed a bit and leaned back "ya I know that"

**An old lady had just boarded the bus. She wore a crumpled velvet dress, lace gloves, and a shapeless orange-knit hat that shadowed her face, and she carried a big paisley purse. When she tilted her head up, her black eyes glittered, and my heart skipped a beat. **

**It was Mrs. Dodds. Older, more withered, but definitely the same evil face.**

Poseidon grew paler but hey at least Percy had already beaten her once so it wasn't too bad

**I scrunched down in my seat. **

**Behind her came two more old ladies: one in a green hat, one in a purple hat. Otherwise they looked exactly like Mrs. Dodds-same gnarled hands, paisley handbags, wrinkled velvet dresses. Triplet demon grandmothers. **

Now Poseidon let out a groan and looked at Percy worriedly how had they gotten out of that. He wasn't the only one the other demigods looked the hero in worry as well

**They sat in the front row, right behind the driver. The two on the aisle crossed their legs over the walkway, making an X. It was casual enough, but it sent a clear message: nobody leaves. **

**The bus pulled out of the station, and we headed through the slick streets of Manhattan. "She didn't stay dead long," I said, trying to keep my voice from quivering. "I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime."**

**"I said if you're ****_lucky_****," Annabeth said. "You're obviously not."**

"Ha Percy and luck do not belong in the same sentence"

"Is it really that bad" Theseus asked

"It's worse than any other demigods trust me you'll see" Thalia answered

**"All three of them," Grover whimpered. "****_Di immortales_****!"**

**"It's okay," Annabeth said, obviously thinking hard. "The Furies. The three worst monsters from the Underworld. No problem. No problem. We'll just slip out the windows."**

"Calm yourself daughter and think when coming up with a good plan it is essential to remain calm" Athena said

Poseidon was to worried about his son to tease her about talking to a book

**"They don't open," Grover moaned. **

**"A back exit?" she suggested. **

**There wasn't one. Even if there had been, it wouldn't have helped. By that time, we were on Ninth Avenue, heading for the Lincoln Tunnel. **

"Oh no oh no oh no" Poseidon whispered under his breath

**"They won't attack us with witnesses around," I said. "Will they?"**

"The mist will cover it besides my furies wouldn't care either way" hades pointed out

**"Mortals don't have good eyes, " Annabeth reminded me. **

**"Their brains can only process what they see through the Mist."**

**"They'll see three old ladies killing us, won't they?"**

A few gods snorted and Percy shrugged "what I thought it was a legitimate question"

**She thought about it. "Hard to say. **

**But we can't count on mortals for help. Maybe an emergency exit in the roof...?"**

**We hit the Lincoln Tunnel, and the bus went dark except for the running lights down the aisle. It was eerily quiet without the sound of the rain. **

**Mrs. Dodds got up. In a flat voice, as if she'd rehearsed it, she announced to the whole bus: "I need to use the restroom."**

Poseidon's hands clamped tightly to his seat although he did his best to hide just how nervous he was "you better come up with a plan quick" he stated and Athena nodded she was also worried about her daughter

**"So do I," said the second sister. **

**"So do I," said the third sister. **

"That's not odd at all" Apollo joked trying to break the tension. It didn't work

**They all started coming down the aisle. **

**"I've got it, " Annabeth said. "Percy, take my hat."**

"No Annabeth don't stay behind" Athena whispered under her breath it was a good plan but it put herself in danger and Athena didn't like that

**"What?"**

**"You're the one they want. Turn invisible and go up the aisle. Let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away."**

**"But you guys-"**

**"There's an outside chance they might not notice us," Annabeth said. "You're a son of one of the Big Three. Your smell might be overpowering."**

Athena knew what Annabeth was saying was a lie at this point there was no way the furies would pass her by and it made her nervous her daughter couldn't die

**"I can't just leave you."**

Athena looked great fully toward Percy who was talking to Nico and Thalia at least he had tried to stay and help perhaps it was a bit unwise to judge him so harshly before she even knew him

**"Don't worry about us," Grover said. "Go!"**

"Such a brave satyr" Hestia said

**My hands trembled. I felt like a coward, but I took the Yankees cap and put it on. **

"You're not being a coward Perseus" Poseidon said to himself

**When I looked down, my body wasn't there anymore. **

**I started creeping up the aisle. I managed to get up ten rows, then duck into an empty seat just as the Furies walked past. **

**Mrs. Dodds stopped, sniffing, and looked straight at me. My heart was pounding. **

**Apparently she didn't see anything. She and her sisters kept going. **

Poseidon sighed in relief but Athena was still tense with worry good the boys safe now what of her daughter

**I was free. I made it to the front of the bus. We were almost through the Lincoln Tunnel now. I was about to press the emergency stop button when I heard hideous wailing from the back row. **

Athena let out a gasp

**The old ladies were not old ladies anymore. Their faces were still the same – I guess those couldn't get any uglier – **

"How could you think that at a time like this" Thalia said looking at Percy incredulously.

Percy just shrugged "you'd be surprised about what I think about in these situations"

**but their bodies had shriveled into leathery brown hag bodies with bat's wings and hands and feet like gargoyle claws. Their handbags had turned into fiery whips. **

Athena leaned forward

**The Furies surrounded Grover and Annabeth, lashing their whips, hissing: "Where is it? Where?"**

It Athena thought confused she stored it away to think about once her daughter was safe

**The other people on the bus were screaming, cowering in their seats. They saw ****_something_****, all right. **

"I wonder what they saw" Nico asked aloud no one had an answer

**"He's not here!" Annabeth yelled. "He's gone!"**

**The Furies raised their whips. **

"No" Athena whispered frozen in her seat

**Annabeth drew her bronze knife. Grover grabbed a tin can from his snack bag and prepared to throw it. **

"How's that going to help useless satyr" Athena said

"Hey he's doing the best he can after all he doesn't have a weapon" Percy said

Athena nodded but said nothing else and Percy sighed he could see how worried she was

**What I did next was so impulsive and dangerous I should've been named ADHD poster child of the year. **

"It better not get my daughter hurt" Athena said although her voice didn't hold malice but relief at least he did something

**The bus driver was distracted, trying to see what was going on in his rearview mirror. **

**Still invisible, I grabbed the wheel from him and jerked it to the left. **

"Great now instead of dying by monster you'll die in a car crash"

"Bus crash actually" Percy said

Athena glared sorry Percy smiled sheepishly it was hard to take this too seriously after all he knew what had happened

**Everybody howled as they were thrown to the right, and I heard what I hoped was the sound of three Furies smashing against the windows. **

Athena breathed out in relief

**"Hey!" the driver yelled. "Hey – whoa!"**

**We wrestled for the wheel. The bus slammed against the side of the tunnel, grinding metal, throwing sparks a mile behind us. **

**We careened out of the Lincoln Tunnel and back into the rainstorm, people and monsters tossed around the bus, cars plowed aside like bowling pins. **

"Jeez Percy vehicles really don't last long in your hands"

Percy snorted "you should see what happened to the cars I borrowed on the way to camp Jupiter"

**Somehow the driver found an exit. We shot off the highway, through half a dozen traffic lights, and ended up barreling down one of those New Jersey rural roads where you can't believe there's so much nothing right across the river from New York. There were woods to our left, the Hudson River to our right, and the driver seemed to be veering toward the river. **

"Watch out you'll harm the humans" Hestia said worriedly

**Another great idea: I hit the emergency brake.**

"Definitely ADHD child of the year"

**The bus wailed, spun a full circle on the wet asphalt, and crashed into the trees. The emergency lights came on. The door flew open. The bus driver was the first one out, the passengers yelling as they stampeded after him. I stepped into the driver's seat and let them pass. **

"At least no one's injured" Hestia said

**The Furies regained their balance. They lashed their whips at Annabeth while she waved her knife and yelled in Ancient Greek, telling them to back off. Grover threw tin cans. **

Athena shook her head at the satyr but she said noting remembering what Percy had said earlier

**I looked at the open doorway. I was free to go, but I couldn't leave my friends. I took off the invisible cap. "Hey!"**

Poseidon was torn between being proud and being frustrated at his son

**The Furies turned, baring their yellow fangs at me, **

Definitely frustrated he thought

**and the exit suddenly seemed like an excellent idea. Mrs. Dodds stalked up the aisle, just as she used to do in class, about to deliver my F– math test. Every time she flicked her whip, red flames danced along the barbed leather. **

**Her two ugly sisters hopped on top of the seats on either side of her and crawled toward me like huge nasty lizards. **

"So now they all go for Percy" Poseidon said in exasperation

**"Perseus Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said, in an accent that was definitely from somewhere farther south than Georgia. **

"Way to state the obvious" Jason said

"Well geographically he could be talking about Florida" Nico said. Everyone stared at him "what Florida's south of Georgia"

Percy just laughed and gave his cousin a playful punch in his shoulder

**"You have offended the gods. You shall die."**

**"I liked you better as a math teacher," I told her. **

"Really Percy you needed to smart off right now"

"It seemed like the best moment" Percy said back smiling

**She growled. **

**Annabeth and Grover moved up behind the Furies cautiously, looking for an opening. **

**I took the ballpoint pen out of my pocket and un-capped it. Riptide elongated into a shimmering double-edged sword. **

"Yeah kick ass" Percy

"Language Nico" Thalia said "tell him Percy"

Percy raised his arms in surrender "yeah I have no right to tell him not to curse" Thalia looked at him and conceded Percy did curse a whole hell of a lot. Nico fist bumped Percy while Thalia wasn't paying attention.

**The Furies hesitated. **

**Mrs. Dodds had felt Riptide's blade before. She obviously didn't like seeing it again. **

**"Submit now," she hissed. "And you will not suffer eternal torment."**

"Yeah right like she was going to keep that deal" Percy said

**"Nice try," I told her.**

**"Percy, look out!" Annabeth cried. **

**Mrs. Dodds lashed her whip around my sword hand while the Furies on the either side lunged at me. **

Suddenly Percy let out a cry and he gripped his wrist

Nico and Thalia jumped in surprise "Percy are you ok"

"It's the curse" Percy bit out the pain in his wrist wasn't the worst pain he'd been in but it had surprised him he'd forgotten about the damn curse

He moved his hand and everyone saw the burn marks and Percy ground his teeth together. Hades quickly read at the insistence of his son

**My hand felt like it was wrapped in molten lead, but I managed not to drop Riptide. **

Thalia winced at that wondering how Percy had managed to keep his grip especially seeing the burn mark on his wrist up close it was terrible

**I stuck the Fury on the left with its hilt, sending her toppling backward into a seat. I turned and sliced the Fury on the right. As soon as the blade connected with her neck, she screamed and exploded into dust. **

Percy breathed out as the pain began to subside and the burn slowly began to heal as the story moved on

**Annabeth got Mrs. Dodds in a wrestler's hold and yanked her backward while Grover ripped the whip out of her hands.**

"Woo go Annabeth" Thalia cheered

**"Ow!" he yelled. "Ow! Hot! Hot!"**

Everyone laughed a bit at Grover and the tension lessened

**The Fury I'd hilt-slammed came at me again, talons ready, but I swung Riptide and she broke open like a piñata. **

"Nice metaphor" Athena said

"Not to be rude but I hope a piñata wouldn't explode into monster dust that'd be gross" Nico said and Percy snorted

**Mrs. Dodds was trying to get Annabeth off her back. She kicked, clawed, hissed and bit, but Annabeth held on while Grover got Mrs. Dodds's legs tied up in her own whip. **

Athena smiled "well looks like I was wrong about the satyr"

Poseidon fake gasped "Athena admitting she's wrong… wow!"

Athena glared at Poseidon

**Finally they both shoved her backward into the aisle. Mrs. Dodds tried to get up, but she didn't have room to flap her bat wings, so she kept falling down.**

Everyone laughed picturing the site

**"Zeus will destroy you!" she promised. "Hades will have your soul!"**

"Nope not yet" Percy said

**"****_Braccas meas vescimini_****!" I yelled. **

Jason and hazel and the gods looked at Percy weirdly "did you just speak Latin" Jason asked

"Ya it just came out" Percy stated

"I thought you guys were hard wired for ancient Greece"

"We are" Thalia said looking at Percy weirdly the gods were staring at him oddly as well they had never seen a demigod who spoke in both roman and Greek it was strange

"Look maybe it was because Chiron taught me Latin"

The gods nodded perhaps although it was still weird

**I wasn't sure where the Latin came from. I think it meant "Eat my pants!"**

"Yup" hazel said with a smirk

**Thunder shook the bus. **

"Uh oh" Thalia said "I'd get off the bus now" she said

**The hair rose on the back of my neck. **

**"Get out!" Annabeth yelled at me. "Now!" I didn't need any encouragement. **

**We rushed outside and found the other passengers wandering around in a daze, arguing with the driver, or running around in circles yelling, "We're going to die!" A Hawaiian-shirted tourist with a camera snapped my photograph before I could recap my sword.**

"It's not like they'll see a sword" Athena stated

"Yeah but with my luck they'll definitely see something bad" Percy replied

**"Our bags!" Grover realized. "We left our-"**

**_BOOOOOM!_**

"To late" Nico said cheerfully

**The windows of the bus exploded as the passengers ran for cover. Lightning shredded a huge crater in the roof, but an angry wail from inside told me Mrs. Dodds was not yet dead. **

"Damn" Poseidon cursed

**"Run!" Annabeth said. "She's calling for reinforcements! We have to get out of here!"**

"Yes get as far away as possible" Athena stated liking her daughter's idea

**We plunged into the woods as the rain poured down, the bus in flames behind us, and nothing but darkness ahead.**

"That's it for the chapter" hades said he handed the book to Zeus who had yet to read and Zeus took it grudgingly.

Hera glanced at the clock "ok one more chapter then bed."

AN: the end of that chapter I hope to have the next chapter up faster than this one but no promises anyway please review they always make me smile or laugh


	14. Chapter 14

AN: Wow it's been a while since I updated… sorry guys I've been super busy what with thanksgiving coming up and finals right after that. I have a big project do in less than two weeks and I've barely done anything with it and I'm also starting work at pizza hut. I haven't had any time to work on this until the last few days! thanks for all your reviews…**Archangel Azrael **I just wanted to say thank you I knew she was born from the sea but I couldn't really remember the exact story so thanks .And **angel-of-the-seas** I'm sorry but I will not be putting Annabeth into the story I do hope you will keep reading even without her in it. **Lady Cooper** I love your Latin idea and I think it would be a wonderful idea so I might use it in the near future. Anyway thank you again to everyone else who reviewed I love you all. Now enough chit chat on with the disclaimer and then…the story!

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

"**We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium," **Zeus read

"Why would you waste your time doing that you're supposed to be on a very important quest to rescue my bolt"

"I'm sure it was only a minor stop dear now please continue" Hera stated rolling her eyes a her husband

**In a way, it's nice to know there are Greek gods out there,**

The gods all smiled

"Why do I have a feeling that he doesn't mean it in a positive way" hazel asked

"Because it's Percy and when he's talking to the gods he's never positive or polite" Thalia answered while Percy just smiled sheepishly

** because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong.**

The gods all frowned and the heroes of old snorted they'd never thought of it like that but it was true. Even Hercules had to agree with that statement after all he did have some the worst luck

**For instance, when you're walking away from a bus that's just been attacked by monster hags and blown up by lightning, and it's raining on top of everything else, most people might think that's just really bad luck;**

Everyone snorted "yeah right, bad luck my …."Percy started until hazel cut him off

"Language!"

"How did you know I was going to curse I could have said something completely different" hazel raised her eyebrows and Percy just smiled back at her innocently

**when you're a half-blood, you understand that some divine force really is trying to mess up your day.**

"Like I said bad luck my…" Percy finished the sentence under his breath so neither hazel or Thalia would hear.

The gods all looked a bit sheepish the boy had a point

**So there we were, Annabeth and Grover and I, walking through the woods along the New Jersey riverbank, the glow of New York City making the night sky yellow behind us, and the smell of the Hudson reeking in our noses.**

**Grover was shivering and braying, his big goat eyes turned slit-pupiled and full of terror.**

"Poor boy he's probably so terrified" Hestia said sadly

**"Three Kindly Ones. All three at once."**

**I was pretty much in shock myself. The explosion of bus windows still rang in my ears. But Annabeth kept pulling us along, saying: "Come on! The farther away we get, the better."**

Thank god for that girl Poseidon thought to himself in relief

**"All our money was back there," I reminded her. "Our food and clothes. Everything."**

"It's how most of our quests end up" said Percy "we start out with everything we need and a few hours into the quest and we end up with absolutely nothing"

**"Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight—"**

**"What did you want me to do? Let you get killed?"**

**"You didn't need to protect me, Percy. I would've been fine."**

**"Sliced like sandwich bread," Grover put in, "but fine."**

Although Athena didn't say it out loud she agreed with the satyr without the sea spawn her daughter might have died and she was very thankful to the boy

**"Shut up, goat boy," said Annabeth.**

**Grover brayed mournfully. "Tin cans ... a perfectly good bag of tin cans."**

"That's what he's upset about… satyrs" Mr. D sighed to himself

**We sloshed across mushy ground, through nasty twisted trees that smelled like sour laundry.**

**After a few minutes, Annabeth fell into line next to me. "Look, I..." Her voice faltered. "I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave."**

Athena smiled slightly

**"We're a team, right?"**

Poseidon smiled as well, both Athena and Poseidon were smiling at their children's thoughtfulness then they both looked at each other and their smiles turned into scowls and they looked toward the book.

**She was silent for a few more steps. "It's just that if you died ... aside from the fact that it would really suck for you,**

"I'm pretty sure it would more than really suck for me" Percy stated and a few of the demigods laughed "I don't know why your laughing it would suck for all you too" they stopped laughing but the smiles stayed. Jason and Hercules were both thinking how incredibly arrogant this hero was.

** it would mean the quest was over.**

"Thanks Annabeth I feel the love" Percy stated sarcastically

** This may be my only chance to see the real world."** **The thunderstorm had finally let up. The city glow faded behind us, leaving us in almost total darkness. I couldn't see anything of Annabeth except a glint of her blond hair.**

Aphrodite sighed a bit, obviously off in her own world as she thought about the two soon to be love birds

**"You haven't left Camp Half-Blood since you were seven?" I asked her.**

**"No ... only short field trips. My dad—"**

"Wow she actually brought up her dad without being forced to" Thalia said in shock then she turned to Percy "you my cousin have a gift"

"Yeah I know" Percy stated "I'm awesome" he and Thalia's eyes met and they burst into laughter

Hazel smiled at the two but she knew Thalia was right, Percy had a way of drawing out your troubles and making you feel better even if you didn't want him too

**"The history professor."**

**"Yeah. It didn't work out for me living at home. I mean, Camp Half-Blood ****_is _****my home." She was rushing her words out now, as if she were afraid somebody might try to stop her.**

"Again it is so weird that she's talking to you about this" Thalia stated she was seriously shocked it had taken them months to get it out of her and here she was spilling it all to Percy in a few weeks.

Percy smiled at her "if I remember correctly you were the same way" he said and Thalia stared at him then shrugged, he had a point. She had told him all her problems within the first few weeks too, it was weird and a bit corny, but she had trusted him from the first time when she had woken up and he had helped her.

**"At camp you train and train. And that's all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not."**

**If I didn't know better, I could've sworn I heard doubt in her voice.**

"Annabeth is amazing no doubt about it" everyone who knew her agreed yeah she was pretty great. Hazel didn't know her but she supposed any girl who could piggyback ride a fury was pretty damn awesome!

**"You're pretty good with that knife," I said.**

"Aww he's trying to make her feel better it's so cute!" Aphrodite said smiling happily it had been a long time since she had such a juicy love story and boy was she excited

**"You think so?"**

**"Anybody who can piggyback-ride a Fury is okay by me."**

Hazel blushed after all shed basically just had the same thought as Percy had

**I couldn't really see, but I thought she might've smiled.**

Aphrodite squealed before she blushed and let out a giddy apology to the gods and demigods who were holding their ears and glaring at her.

**"You know," she said, "maybe I should tell you ... Something funny back on the bus ..."**

**Whatever she wanted to say was interrupted by a shrill ****_toot-toot-toot, _****like the sound of an owl being tortured.**

Athena looked offended and Poseidon snorted which made Athena even angrier and she glared at said god

**"Hey, my reed pipes still work!" Grover cried.**

"Still work may be a bit of a stretch my friend" Thalia stated with a wince

Percy laughed "yeah and at that point I kind of hoped that they had been broken"

**"If I could just remember a 'find path' song, we could get out of these woods!"**

**He puffed out a few notes, but the tune still sounded suspiciously like Hilary Duff.**

Thalia winced she really couldn't understand Grover musical tastes

**Instead of finding a path, I immediately slammed into a tree and got a nice-size knot on my head.**

Everyone laughed except Percy who pouted and put a hand to his head rubbing it a bit as the curse kicked in. Although, this time the pain was so minor it didn't really bother him, after all slamming into a tree was nothing compared to the shit he's been through now a days.

**Add to the list of superpowers I did ****_not _****have: infrared vision.**

"Nope sorry son" Poseidon said chuckling a bit

**After tripping and cursing and generally feeling miserable for another mile or so, I started to see light up ahead: the colors of a neon sign. I could smell food. Fried, greasy, excellent food.**

Demeter made a gagging noise and opened her mouth to comment when Zeus read on. He loved his sister, but he agreed with hades (not that he'd ever ever ever ever ever ever admit it) his sister could be a bit annoying when it came to her grain and eating healthy.

**I realized I hadn't eaten anything unhealthy since I'd arrived at Half-Blood Hill,**

"Exactly how it's supposed to be, nice and healthy and organic" Demeter said

Percy shuddered and whispered to hazel "we need to make sure her and iris never meet otherwise were doomed" hazel snorted at Percy's serious expression

** where we lived on grapes, bread, cheese, and extra-lean-cut nymph-prepared barbecue. This boy needed a double cheeseburger.**

"So unhealthy" Demeter chided

But Percy and Thalia were both already drooling they loved cheese burgers. Nico shook his head at them and at the questioning glances he just sighed and said "they love cheeseburgers don't ask me why I have no idea but they're both cheese burger addicts" both Zeus and Poseidon looked at their children oddly and then blamed the mother in their heads.

**We kept walking until I saw a deserted two-lane road through the trees. On the other side was a closed-down gas station, a tattered billboard for a 1990s movie, and one open business, which was the source of the neon light and the good smell.**

"Best and worst place ever" Percy said

Poseidon groaned at that and sighed what monster was it this time

**It wasn't a fast-food restaurant like I'd hoped. It was one of those weird roadside curio shops that sell lawn flamingos and wooden Indians and cement grizzly bears and stuff like that. The main building was a long, low warehouse, surrounded by acres of statuary. The neon sign above the gate was impossible for me to read, because if there's anything worse for my dyslexia than regular English, it's red cursive neon English.**

All the demigods winced except for the heroes of old, who thanked the gods that they didn't have to worry about neon signs, whatever those were.

Everyone turned to Zeus to read on, but Zeus was studying the book and turning it sideways with a weird look on his face. Poseidon laughed "what brother forget how to read"

Zeus scowled "no but your sons obviously an idiot" (Hey!) "this isn't even words"

Everyone just stared at him and Zeus sighed and read out

**To me, it looked like: ****_ATNYU MES GDERAN GOMEN MEPROUIM._**

"Say what" Apollo said

Zeus tried to read it again.

"Ok wait one more time"

Zeus said it again.

"I didn't catch that, try reading it slower" Apollo said shaking trying to hold in his laughter at Zeus reading gibberish. Zeus realizing what Apollo was doing glared at him, and all the gods, who had been trying to hold in their laughter, let it out and laughed. The demigods as well, Percy laughed to although his cheeks were tinged red after all those were his thoughts.

**"What the heck does that say?" I asked.**

**"I don't know," Annabeth said.**

**She loved reading so much, I'd forgotten she was dyslexic, too.**

**Grover translated: "Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium."**

Athena's eyes narrowed why did that sound so familiar

**Flanking the entrance, as advertised, were two cement garden gnomes, ugly bearded little runts, smiling and waving, as if they were about to get their picture taken.**

Athena froze and she groaned and then looked at book worriedly. This was not a monster she wanted her daughter anywhere near and she was nervous. How had they gotten out of this one? Zeus continued reading oblivious to his daughters mini panic attack

**I crossed the street, following the smell of the hamburgers.**

**"Hey ..." Grover warned.**

Poseidon groaned again yup definitely a monster then he caught sight of Athena and saw her mini panic attack, and he suddenly got a whole lot more worried for his son. Athena obviously knew what the monster was and if she was worried then that meant it was bad very bad

**"The lights are on inside," Annabeth said. "Maybe it's open."**

**"Snack bar," I said wistfully.**

**"Snack bar," she agreed.**

Athena groaned what a time for her daughter to lose her wisdom

**"Are you two crazy?" Grover said. "This place is weird."**

**We ignored him.**

Athena and Poseidon groaned

Mr. D sighed "no one ever listens to the goat" he said everyone stared at him then looked to Zeus again

**The front lot was a forest of statues: cement animals, cement children, even a cement satyr playing the pipes, which gave Grover the creeps.**

**_"Bla-ha-ha!" _****he bleated. "Looks like my Uncle Ferdinand!"**

Poseidon stiffened and looked at Athena who gave a nod, and Poseidon hit his head on the back of his throne, why did it have to be his son why?

**We stopped at the warehouse door.**

**"Don't knock," Grover pleaded. "I smell monsters."**

**"Your nose is clogged up from the Furies," Annabeth told him.**

The heroes of old winced, not good if they kept acting this way they were going to end up dead. Theseus was thinking hard trying to figure out what monster it could be.

**"All I smell is burgers. Aren't you hungry?"**

"He's a vegetarian" Mr. D stated

**"Meat!" he said scornfully. "I'm a vegetarian."**

"See" no one bothered to respond to him so he just went sighed and slumped in his chair he wouldn't admit it but this book was a bit interesting

**"You eat cheese enchiladas and aluminum cans," I reminded him.**

"Well techniquely cans aren't meat and if there cheese enchiladas then that's not meat either so he should be fine" hazel stated

**"Those are vegetables. Come on. Let's leave. These statues are ... looking at me."**

**Then the door creaked open, and standing in front of us was a tall Middle Eastern woman—at least, I assumed she was Middle Eastern, because she wore a long black gown that covered everything but her hands, and her head was completely veiled.**

"Wow so because she doesn't show any skin it makes her Middle Eastern" Thalia asked raising an eyebrow at Percy who shrugged

** Her eyes glinted behind a curtain of black gauze, but that was about all I could make out. Her coffee-colored hands looked old, but well-manicured and elegant, so I imagined she was a grandmother who had once been a beautiful lady.**

Perseus was thinking hard the description sparked something in him, yes he had definitely fought this monster before but what was it.

**Her accent sounded vaguely Middle Eastern, too. She said, "Children, it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?"**

**"They're ... um ..." Annabeth started to say.**

**"We're orphans," I said.**

"Oh this'll be interesting Percy's coming up with the story" Nico stated

"What's that supposed to mean" Percy replied

"You come up with some of the weirdest things I've ever heard"

"Whatever I'm not that bad"

**"Orphans?" the woman said. The word sounded alien in her mouth. "But, my dears! Surely not!"**

**"We got separated from our caravan," I said. "Our circus caravan.**

"My point has been made" Nico stated

and Percy pouted "oh come on it was one time"

"Yeah right I bet it's happened more than once, and I'll be proven right because of these books"

Percy opened his mouth to object but then closed it he had nothing to say Nico was probably right

**The ringmaster told us to meet him at the gas station if we got lost, but he may have forgotten, or maybe he meant a different gas station. Anyway, we're lost. Is that food I smell?"**

"Nice Percy real smooth" Orion teases

Percy shrugged "I blame it on hunger"

**"Oh, my dears," the woman said. "You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There is a dining area."**

**We thanked her and went inside.**

**Annabeth muttered to me, "Circus caravan?"**

**"Always have a strategy, right?"**

**"Your head is full of kelp."**

"Yup" everyone agreed and Percy huffed

**The warehouse was filled with more statues—people in all different poses, wearing all different outfits and with different expressions on their faces. I was thinking you'd have to have a pretty huge garden to fit even one of these statues, because they were all life-size. But mostly, I was thinking about food.**

Poseidon groaned "really son really"

"What I was hungry and it smelt so good"

**Go ahead, call me an idiot for walking into a strange lady's shop like that just because I was hungry,**

"Your an idiot" everyone called out and Percy sighed he had deserved that after all that sentence was just asking for that response

**but I do impulsive stuff sometimes.**

"Sometimes" Thalia scoffed "more like all the time"

** Plus, you've never smelled Aunty Em's burgers. The aroma was like laughing gas in the dentist's chair—it made everything else go away.**

"Odd but creative" Athena had to admit

** I barely noticed Grover's nervous whimpers, or the way the statues' eyes seemed to follow me, or the fact that Aunty Em had locked the door behind us.**

Everyone face palmed and Percy smiled sheepishly at their exasperated faces

**All I cared about was finding the dining area. And sure enough, there it was at the back of the warehouse, a fast-food counter with a grill, a soda fountain, a pretzel heater, and a nacho cheese dispenser. Everything you could want, plus a few steel picnic tables out front.**

The guys' stomachs rumbled and a few of them even drooled a bit (Apollo and Hermes)

**"Please, sit down," Aunty Em said.**

**"Awesome," I said.**

**"Um," Grover said reluctantly, "we don't have any money, ma'am."**

**Before I could jab him in the ribs, Aunty Em said, "No, no, children. No money. This is a special case, yes? It is my treat, for such nice orphans."**

**"Thank you, ma'am," Annabeth said.**

Athena groaned the sea spawn was rubbing off on her daughter, she should have been more perceptive than this

**Aunty Em stiffened, as if Annabeth had done some thing wrong, but then the old woman relaxed just as quickly, so I figured it must've been my imagination.**

"No no no no no" Athena whispered to herself Annabeth was in very big danger

**"Quite all right, Annabeth," she said. "You have such beautiful gray eyes, child."**

Athena stiffened and she scowled that bitch better not hurt her daughter

** Only later did I wonder how she knew Annabeth's name, even though we had never introduced ourselves.**

"'Only later' doesn't do you any good when you're about to be killed" Athena stated

Percy rolled his eyes at her "well sorry" he said

Athena glared but she was too worried so she let it slide this time

**Our hostess disappeared behind the snack counter and started cooking. Before we knew it, she'd brought us plastic trays heaped with double cheeseburgers, vanilla shakes, and XXL servings of French fries.**

All the demigods drooled at the mention of all that greasy food

**I was halfway through my burger before I remembered to breathe.**

**Annabeth slurped her shake.**

**Grover picked at the fries, and eyed the tray's waxed paper liner as if he might go for that, but he still looked too nervous to eat.**

"That should warn you that something is wrong" Hestia said worried for the heroes

**"What's that hissing noise?" he asked.**

**I listened, but didn't hear anything. Annabeth shook her head.**

**"Hissing?" Aunty Em asked. "Perhaps you hear the deep-fryer oil. You have keen ears, Grover."**

**"I take vitamins. For my ears."**

"So now he can lie, jeez!" Hermes stated shaking his head

**"That's admirable," she said. "But please, relax."**

**Aunty Em ate nothing. She hadn't taken off her head dress, even to cook, and now she sat forward and interlaced her fingers and watched us eat.**

"That's really weird, I don't think I could eat like that" Thalia said

"Oh trust me Thals if you were as hungry as us you would" Percy stated

** It was a little unsettling, having someone stare at me when I couldn't see her face, but I was feeling satisfied after the burger, and a little sleepy, and I figured the least I could do was try to make small talk with our hostess.**

"Well at least you're polite" Hera said

"To a monster that's about to kill him!" Poseidon said looking at the queen of the gods in anger

**"So, you sell gnomes," I said, trying to sound interested.**

**"Oh, yes," Aunty Em said. "And animals. And people. Anything for the garden. Custom orders. Statuary is very popular, you know."**

**"A lot of business on this road?"**

**"Not so much, no. Since the highway was built... most cars, they do not go this way now. I must cherish every customer I get."**

"Good for her, bad for you" Perseus said still trying to figure out why the woman sounded so familiar

**My neck tingled, as if somebody else was looking at me. I turned, but it was just a statue of a young girl holding an Easter basket. The detail was incredible, much better than you see in most garden statues.**

Perseus's head shot up and he stared at the book in shock then at Percy with worry. How had he made it out? It was hard enough for him and she was sleeping

**But something was wrong with her face. It looked as if she were startled, or even terrified.**

**"Ah," Aunty Em said sadly. "You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is the hardest to get right. Always the face."**

**"You make these statues yourself?" I asked.**

That's when it clicked in everyone else's mind and although most didn't show it they were worried about the young hero

**"Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sisters to help me in the business, but they have passed on, **

"Ya that didn't last long though they were more than willing to come back to life to kill me." Percy grumbled.

"What" Thalia asked

"Nothing it will come up sooner or later"

**and Aunty Em is alone. I have only my statues. This is why I make them, you see. They are my company." The sadness in her voice sounded so deep and so real that I couldn't help feeling sorry for her.**

**Annabeth had stopped eating. She sat forward and said, "Two sisters?"**

"Now she gets it" Poseidon states

"Yes and your son still doesn't" Athena replied back

**"It's a terrible story," Aunty Em said. "Not one for children, really. You see, Annabeth, a bad woman was jealous of me, long ago, when I was young.**

"Jealous ha ya right I was offended not jealous"

**I had a... a boyfriend,**

"Not a boyfriend a lover" Poseidon stated

** you know, and this bad woman was determined to break us apart. She caused a terrible accident. My sisters stayed by me. They shared my bad fortune as long as they could, but eventually they passed on. They faded away. I alone have survived, but at a price. Such a price."**

**I wasn't sure what she meant, but I felt bad for her.**

A few of the gods face palmed and Percy blushed

**My eyelids kept getting heavier, my full stomach making me sleepy. Poor old lady. Who would want to hurt somebody so nice?**

Some of the heroes opened their mouths to tease him but Percy stopped them by saying "ok I get it I'm a retard now can we please move on"

**"Percy?" Annabeth was shaking me to get my attention. "Maybe we should go. I mean, the ringmaster will be waiting."**

**She sounded tense. I wasn't sure why. Grover was eating the waxed paper off the tray now, but if Aunty Em found that strange, she didn't say anything.**

**"Such beautiful gray eyes," Aunty Em told Annabeth again. "My, yes, it has been a long time since I've seen gray eyes like those."**

"Oh no Annabeth get out of there just leave the idiot sea spawn"

"Gee thanks I'm feeling the love"

"I don't want my daughter to die from your idiocy"

"I wouldn't let Annabeth die… ever!" Percy said this with such seriousness and his eyes were a bit hollow, and for the first time everyone could see how damaged Percy really was. But it lasted only a few seconds, before Percy reigned it in again and he gestured for Zeus to read. The gods and demigods were shocked. Poseidon was devastated his poor son. Thalia wanted to cry what had happened to him she wanted to ask, but the way he was acting she knew it wasn't a good time so she closed her mouth she'd ask later.

**She reached out as if to stroke Annabeth's cheek, but Annabeth stood up abruptly.**

**"We really should go."**

**"Yes!" Grover swallowed his waxed paper and stood up. "The ringmaster is waiting! Right!"**

**I didn't want to leave. I felt full and content. Aunty Em was so nice. I wanted to stay with her a while.**

Athena shook her head but didn't comment

**"Please, dears," Aunty Em pleaded. "I so rarely get to be with children. Before you go, won't you at least sit for a pose?"**

**"A pose?" Annabeth asked warily.**

Oh no Annabeth don't be fooled Athena thought frantically

**"A photograph. I will use it to model a new statue set.**

**Children are so popular, you see. Everyone loves children."**

**Annabeth shifted her weight from foot to foot. "I don't think we can, ma'am. Come on, Percy—"**

**"Sure we can," I said.**

Athena groaned but then she took a deep breath. Percy is alive, she thought, and she knew he wouldn't leave her daughter behind if the bus incident was anything to go by, so it makes sense to assume she's still alive as well Athena thought to herself and her nerves calmed slightly

**I was irritated with Annabeth for being so bossy, so rude to an old lady who'd just fed us for free. "It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?"**

**"Yes, Annabeth," the woman purred. "No harm."**

**I could tell Annabeth didn't like it, but she allowed Aunty Em to lead us back out the front door, into the garden of statues.**

Athena was tense and so was Poseidon just because their children were alive now doesn't mean they weren't injured

**Aunty Em directed us to a park bench next to the stone satyr. "Now," she said, "I'll just position you correctly. The young girl in the middle, I think, and the two young gentlemen on either side."**

**"Not much light for a photo," I remarked.**

"Come on Percy don't be fooled" Nico whispered to himself he was worried about his brother after all he'd heard the stories of medusa and he knew just how dangerous she could be

**"Oh, enough," Aunty Em said. "Enough for us to see each other, yes?"**

**"Where's your camera?" Grover asked.**

**Aunty Em stepped back, as if to admire the shot. "Now, the face is the most difficult. Can you smile for me please, everyone? A large smile?"**

**Grover glanced at the cement satyr next to him, and mumbled, "That sure does look like Uncle Ferdinand."**

"Snap out of it you guys don't just stand there and let her turn you to stone" Thalia stated

"Thalia relax were all alive, you know that so calm down!" Percy reminded her

**"Grover," Aunty Em chastised, "look this way, dear."**

**She still had no camera in her hands.**

**"Percy—" Annabeth said.**

**Some instinct warned me to listen to Annabeth, but I was fighting the sleepy feeling, the comfortable lull that came from the food and the old lady's voice.**

"Yes listen to Annabeth" Athena whispered unbeknown to her Poseidon was thinking the same thing

**"I will just be a moment," Aunty Em said. "You know, I can't see you very well in this cursed veil..."**

**"Percy, something's wrong," Annabeth insisted.**

**"Wrong?" Aunty Em said, reaching up to undo the wrap around her head. "Not at all, dear. I have such noble company tonight. What could be wrong?"**

"Queue Annabeth and Grover getting it and Percy being a little slow" Thalia said Percy pouted at her

**"That ****_is _****Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover gasped.**

**"Look away from her!" Annabeth shouted. She whipped her Yankees cap onto her head and vanished. Her invisible hands pushed Grover and me both off the bench.**

**I was on the ground, looking at Aunt Em's sandaled feet.**

**I could hear Grover scrambling off in one direction, Annabeth in another. But I was too dazed to move.**

"Idiot after all that you still don't realize that she's medusa how can someone like you be the hero of Olympus you're just a stupid kid" Jason ranted

Thalia got up looking angry, but Percy pushed her back down or tried to, but Thalia shocked him and Percy yelped and Thalia glared at Jason "after this chapter is done you and I need to have a serious talk"

**Then I heard a strange, rasping sound above me. My eyes rose to Aunty Em's hands, which had turned gnarled and warty, with sharp bronze talons for fingernails.**

**I almost looked higher, but somewhere off to my left Annabeth screamed, "No! Don't!"**

"Thank you than you thank you" Poseidon chanted he was so grateful to the brat of Athena.

**More rasping—the sound of tiny snakes, right above me, from ... from about where Aunty Em's head would be.**

**"Run!" Grover bleated. I heard him racing across the gravel, yelling, ****_"Maia!" _****to kick-start his flying sneakers.**

"Maia" Hermes said and his shoes stopped fluttering

**I couldn't move. I stared at Aunty Em's gnarled claws, and tried to fight the groggy trance the old woman had put me in.**

**"Such a pity to destroy a handsome young face," she told me soothingly. "Stay with me, Percy. All you have to do is look up."**

"No don't stay with her don't look up"

"Relax dad I'm fine"

Poseidon didn't even seem to hear him

**I fought the urge to obey. Instead I looked to one side and saw one of those glass spheres people put in gardens— a gazing ball. I could see Aunty Em's dark reflection in the orange glass; her headdress was gone, revealing her face as a shimmering pale circle. Her hair was moving, writhing like serpents.**

"Now he gets it" Mr. D snorted

**Aunty Em.**

**Aunty "M."**

**How could I have been so stupid?**

"Cause it you Perce"

"Oh shut up"

**Think, I told myself. How did Medusa die in the myth?**

**But I couldn't think. Something told me that in the myth Medusa had been asleep when she was attacked by my namesake, Peruses. **

Perseus smiled it was pretty cool being someone's namesake. He smiled at Percy who smiled back

**She wasn't anywhere near asleep now. If she wanted, she could take those talons right now and rake open my face.**

"Ya I kind of wonder why she's not" Nico asked

"Simple" Aphrodite replied everyone stared at her "what? Isn't it obvious, Percy has an incredible likeness to his father in fact their basically twins, so then medusa, who is obviously still in love with Poseidon, wouldn't want to harm Percy's face because it looks to much like her old lovers. Which is a good thing for him cause she could use it against her and ta da!"

Everyone kept staring except Ares who put an arm around her "that's my girl" Aphrodite giggled up at him and Zeus shook his head and started reading again

**"The Gray-Eyed One did this to me, Percy," Medusa said, and she didn't sound anything like a monster. Her voice invited me to look up, to sympathize with a poor old grandmother. "Annabeth's mother, the cursed Athena, turned me from a beautiful woman into this."**

"Its Poseidon's fault he's the one that chose my temple for a make out session so you should be blaming him not me"

"Aww love… it is a powerful thing" Aphrodite said smiling dreamily Artemis just snorted which made Aphrodite glare at her

**"Don't listen to her!" Annabeth's voice shouted, some where in the statuary. "Run, Percy!"** **"Silence!" Medusa snarled. Then her voice modulated back to a comforting purr. "You see why I must destroy the girl, Percy. She is my enemy's daughter. I shall crush her statue to dust. But you, dear Percy, you need not suffer."**

Apollo looked at Poseidon in awe "how do you do it uncle? She still loves you even though you got her turned into a hideous monster it's incredible!"

Poseidon just smiled "that's my little secret"

"Aww come on uncle P"

Zeus read louder to cover up the sound of Apollo pleading to his uncle for advice

**"No," I muttered. I tried to make my legs move.**

**"Do you really want to help the gods?" Medusa asked. "Do you understand what awaits you on this foolish quest, Percy? What will happen if you reach the Underworld? Do not be a pawn of the Olympians,**

"Too late" Percy whispered to himself. Thalia looked at him in concern, Percy noticed and smiled at her she smiled back and turned away but in her mind she was still worried her cousin had never before looked so dejected.

** my dear. You would be better off as a statue. Less pain. Less pain."**

**"Percy!" Behind me, I heard a buzzing sound, like a two-hundred-pound hummingbird in a nosedive. Grover yelled, "Duck!"**

**I turned, and there he was in the night sky, flying in from twelve o'clock with his winged shoes fluttering, Grover, holding a tree branch the size of a baseball bat. His eyes were shut tight, his head twitched from side to side. He was navigating by ears and nose alone.**

"Uh oh I have a feeling that's not going to end well" Thalia said

**"Duck!" he yelled again. "I'll get her!"**

**That finally jolted me into action. Knowing Grover, I was sure he'd miss Medusa and nail me.**

"What faith you have in friends" Hestia teased lightly Percy blushed but smiled

**I dove to one side.**

**_Thwack!_**

**At first I figured it was the sound of Grover hitting a tree. Then Medusa roared with rage.**

"Right on red baron!" Percy whooped everyone stared at him oddly and he shrugged and gestured to the book

**"You miserable satyr," she snarled. "I'll add you to my collection!"**

**"That was for Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover yelled back.**

**I scrambled away and hid in the statuary while Grover swooped down for another pass.**

**_Ker-whack!_**

**"Arrgh!" Medusa yelled, her snake-hair hissing and spit ting.**

**Right next to me, Annabeth's voice said, "Percy!"**

"I hate it when she does that" Percy said

**I jumped so high my feet nearly cleared a garden gnome. "Jeez! Don't do that!"**

**Annabeth took off her Yankees cap and became visible. 'You have to cut her head off."**

**"What? Are you crazy? Let's get out of here."**

"I agree with sea spawn get out of there"

**"Medusa is a menace. She's evil. I'd kill her myself, but..." Annabeth swallowed, as if she were about to make a difficult admission. "But you've got the better weapon. Besides, I'd never get close to her. She'd slice me to bits because of my mother. You—you've got a chance."**

Ugh! Great now Percy's going to have to do it Poseidon thought to himself

**"What? I can't—"**

**"Look, do you want her turning more innocent people into statues?"**

**She pointed to a pair of statue lovers, a man and a woman with their arms around each other, turned to stone by the monster.**

"Enter kick ass hero Percy" Nico stated Percy raised his eyebrows at his cousin

**Annabeth grabbed a green gazing ball from a nearby pedestal. "A polished shield would be better." She studied the sphere critically. "The convexity will cause some distortion. The reflection's size should be off by a factor of—"**

"Would she speak English" Thalia said

**"Would you speak English?"**

Thalia huffed and turned to glare at Percy who shrugged "what you're copying me not the other way around"

**"I ****_am!" _****She tossed me the glass ball.**

**"Just look at her in the glass. ****_Never _****look at her directly."**

"Now see why she couldn't just say that at the start"

**"Hey, guys!" Grover yelled somewhere above us. "I think she's unconscious!"**

**_"Roooaaarrr!"_**

"Nope I don't think so" Apollo said laughing slightly

Poseidon glared a bit after all he was still worried for his son

**"Maybe not," Grover corrected. He went in for another pass with the tree branch.**

**"Hurry," Annabeth told me. "Grover's got a great nose, but he'll eventually crash."**

"See" Percy said to Hestia "Annabeth has little faith too it's not just me"

Hestia giggled a bit

**I took out my pen and uncapped it. The bronze blade of Riptide elongated in my hand.**

**I followed the hissing and spitting sounds of Medusa's hair.**

**I kept my eyes locked on the gazing ball so I would only glimpse Medusa's reflection, not the real thing. Then, in the green tinted glass, I saw her.**

"And she was incredibly ugly… unlike me the goddess of gorgeous!" Aphrodite said smiling looking at herself in the mirror and applying more make up

**Grover was coming in for another turn at bat, but this time he flew a little too low. Medusa grabbed the stick and pulled him off course. He tumbled through the air and crashed into the arms of a stone grizzly bear with a painful "Ummphh!"**

"See told ya he'd crash, but don't worry Lady Hestia I have full faith in Grover now"

**Medusa was about to lunge at him when I yelled, "Hey!"**

"Great" Poseidon whispered he was incredibly pale

**I advanced on her, which wasn't easy, holding a sword and a glass ball. If she charged, I'd have a hard time defending myself.**

Poseidon leaned forward wanting desperately to know what happened to his son

**But she let me approach—twenty feet, ten feet.**

**I could see the reflection of her face now. Surely it wasn't really ****_that _****ugly. The green swirls of the gazing ball must be distorting it, making it look worse.**

"Nope she's just that hideous, after all Athena here was super pissed" Aphrodite said

**"You wouldn't harm an old woman, Percy," she crooned. "I know you wouldn't."**

"Ya well good thing you're no old woman" Nico said

**I hesitated, fascinated by the face I saw reflected in the glass—the eyes that seemed to burn straight through the green tint, making my arms go weak.**

**From the cement grizzly, Grover moaned, "Percy, don't listen to her!"**

**Medusa cackled. "Too late."**

"No!" Poseidon tensed up

**She lunged at me with her talons.**

Everyone held their breath

**I slashed up with my sword, heard a sickening ****_shlock!,_**** then a hiss like wind rushing out of a cavern—the sound of a monster disintegrating.**

Everyone sighed in relief except Aphrodite who was squealing about how gross that was

**Something fell to the ground next to my foot. It took all my willpower not to look. I could feel warm ooze soaking into my sock, little dying snake heads tugging at my shoelaces.**

"Eewww! Eeww! Eeeeeewwwww!" Aphrodite squealed out in disgust

**"Oh, yuck," Grover said. His eyes were still tightly closed, but I guess he could hear the thing gurgling and steaming. "Mega-yuck."**

"I agree with the satyr that is so disgusting"

**Annabeth came up next to me, her eyes fixed on the sky. She was holding Medusa's black veil. She said, "Don't move."**

**Very, very carefully, without looking down, she knelt and draped the monster's head in black cloth, then picked it up. It was still dripping green juice.**

Aphrodite turned pale and leaned heavily on Ares for support

**"Are you okay?" she asked me, her voice trembling.**

**"Yeah," I decided, though I felt like throwing up my double cheeseburger. "Why didn't ... why didn't the head evaporate?"**

"Spoils of war" Ares said happily

Hazel winced again she could not imagine him a franks father frank was just too sweet and kind and handsome and … suddenly she blushed and shook her head what was she thinking this was definitely not the time for that

**"Once you sever it, it becomes a spoil of war," she said. "Same as your minotaur horn. But don't unwrap the head. It can still petrify you."**

**Grover moaned as he climbed down from the grizzly statue. He had a big welt on his forehead. His green rasta cap hung from one of his little goat horns, and his fake feet had been knocked off his hooves. The magic sneakers were flying aimlessly around his head.**

"Ha-ha like in the old cartoons how great" Nico laughed Percy smiled at Nico it was nice seeing him all happy and bubbly not like he was in his time

**"The Red Baron," I said. "Good job, man."**

"See red baron" Percy stated everyone ignored him

**He managed a bashful grin. "That really was ****_not _****fun, though. Well, the hitting-her-with-a-stick part, that was fun. But crashing into a concrete bear? ****_Not _****fun."**

Thalia snorted a bit and shook her head oh Grover she thought

**He snatched his shoes out of the air. I recapped my sword. Together, the three of us stumbled back to the ware house.**

**We found some old plastic grocery bags behind the snack counter and double-wrapped Medusa's head. We plopped it on the table where we'd eaten dinner and sat around it, too exhausted to speak.**

**Finally I said, "So we have Athena to thank for this monster?"**

"Actually you have your father to thank" Athena stated

"Well techniquely you're the one who turned her into a monster so it's your fault"

"No yours you were the one making out in my temple"

"Ya but you didn't have to turn her into a monster"

"Just admit it's your fault" Athena argued

"No because it's yours" Poseidon argued back

"It's yours"

"Yours"

"No yours"

"No yours"

"No yours"

"No…" Poseidon was cut off

"ENOUGH it's both of your faults! Now will you shut it and let me read" Zeus thundered

**Annabeth flashed me an irritated look. "Your dad, actually. Don't you remember? Medusa was Poseidon's girl friend.**

"Lover" Poseidon stated

** They decided to meet in my mother's temple. That's why Athena turned her into a monster. Medusa and her two sisters who had helped her get into the temple, they became the three gorgons. That's why Medusa wanted to slice me up, but she wanted to preserve you as a nice statue. She's still sweet on your dad. You probably reminded her of him."**

"Come on uncle P just give me some advice please please please"

Poseidon just shook his head at his nephew

**My face was burning. "Oh, so now it's ****_my _****fault we met Medusa."**

**Annabeth straightened. In a bad imitation of my voice, she said: "'It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?'"**

**"Forget it," I said. "You're impossible."**

**"You're insufferable."**

**"You're—"**

"Aww lovers quarrel how cute" Aphrodite cooed Percy blushed and Poseidon and Athena scowled

**"Hey!" Grover interrupted. "You two are giving me a migraine, and satyrs don't even ****_get _****migraines. What are we going to do with the head?"**

Percy smiled sheepishly as he remembered exactly what he had done with the head

**I stared at the thing. One little snake was hanging out of a hole in the plastic. The words printed on the side of the bag said: WE APPRECIATE YOUR BUSINESS!**

**I was angry, not just with Annabeth or her mom, but with all the gods for this whole quest,**

The gods winced and Poseidon sighed if only Percy hadn't been born he wouldn't have to suffer

** for getting us blown off the road and in two major fights the very first day out from camp. At this rate, we'd never make it to L.A. alive, much less before the summer solstice.**

**What had Medusa said?**

**_Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear. You would be better off as a statue._**

"Great" Thalia sighed

"What" Apollo asked her

"Now Percy's going to do something stupid and impulsive"

"How do you know?"

"He's angry at the gods trust me when he's angry he does impulsive stuff like insulting you guys" all the gods looked at her shocked then to Percy who was blushing. The heroes of old were staring too, no way did Percy insult the gods that much, he'd be dead by now if he had.

**I got up. "I'll be back."**

**"Percy," Annabeth called after me. "What are you—"**

**I searched the back of the warehouse until I found Medusa's office. Her account book showed her six most recent sales, all shipments to the Underworld to decorate Hades and Persephone's garden.**

Demeter glared at hades "what are you looking at me for its all your daughter"

"It's because of your influence"

** According to one freight bill, the Underworld's billing address was DOA Recording Studios, West Hollywood, California. I folded up the bill and stuffed it in my pocket.**

"Smart" Athena stated Percy smiled

**In the cash register I found twenty dollars, a few golden drachmas, and some packing slips for Hermes Overnight Express, each with a little leather bag attached for coins. I rummaged around the rest of the office until I found the right-size box.**

Athena looked at the boy in shock he was not doing what she thought he was doing

**I went back to the picnic table, packed up Medusa's head, and filled out a delivery slip:**

**_The Gods_**

**_MountOlympus_**

**_600th Floor,_**

**_EmpireState Building_**

**_New York, NY_**

**_With best wishes,_**

**_PERCY JACKSON_**

The heroes of old face palmed and the other demigods stared at Percy in shock. Thalia knew Percy was going to do something but this was just insane.

The gods all looked offended or in Aphrodite's case disgusted and they all glared at Percy except for hades who found it funny and Poseidon who was too busy cursing his genes that made Percy so reckless

**"They're not going to like that," Grover warned. "They'll think you're impertinent."**

"Well that's nothing new I'm sure" Thalia stated

**I poured some golden drachmas in the pouch. As soon as I closed it, there was a sound like a cash register. The package floated off the table and disappeared with a ****_pop!_**

**"I ****_am _****impertinent," I said.**

Percy smiled it was true he definitely was

"What's impertinent mean?" Nico asked

"Exceeding the limits of propriety or good manners; improperly forward or bold" Athena recited

"Now you know why I call you the walking dictionary" Poseidon stated

Athena glared

Nico was laughing "that is pretty spot on for you Perce"

**I looked at Annabeth, daring her to criticize.**

**She didn't. She seemed resigned to the fact that I had a major talent for ticking off the gods**

"Yeah I'd say you have a major talent" Thalia stated and Poseidon groaned his son was going to be the death of him

**. "Come on," she muttered. "We need a new plan."**

"That's the end of the chapter" Zeus said

"Good now a quick dinner and bed" Hera stated and everyone made their way to the dining room

AN: ya and as a reward for waiting so long another chapter yaaaaaaaaa! Hope you all enjoy it… oh and please review Percy will love you if you do


	15. Chapter 15

AN: ok here's your reward chapter for all your amazing reviews and waiting so long for this update this is for you!

Dinner was entertaining to say the least. Percy ate 3 large (blue) pizzas all by himself with Hermes and Apollo chanting "eat eat eat" until Hera had yelled at them.

Artemis and Thalia ate together until a dejected Apollo came to sit with them after being yelled at, only to be shot at by Artemis for calling Thalia sweet heart.

Nico sat next to Percy happily eating his own medium pizza.

The heroes of old were chowing down on the pizza amazed. It was the greatest thing they'd ever tasted.

Jason sat off on his own avoiding Thalia he knew 'the talk' she promised was coming and he was not looking forward to it.

Poseidon was pacing in a corner rehearsing a speech to himself as he tried to think of a way to bring up the topic of Gabe with the older Percy.

The rest of the gods just argued with each other or ignored everyone (Mr. D and Hephaestus).

After dinner Thalia marched straight up to Jason and grabbed his arm "we need to talk little brother." She dragged him into zues's rooms and locked the door behind her. Jason stood back from her arms crossed over his chest. Thalia took a deep breath and "what is wrong with you Jason you weren't like this before what has gotten into you?"

"Look Thalia you wouldn't understand"

"Try me"

"I'm mad because no matter what I do I'm never good enough"

"What"

"I'm not good enough for you or anyone else in this dang place. Every day at camp half-blood its Percy Jackson this and Percy Jackson that and they expect me to live up to that. Even you! You would turn to Percy Jackson before you would turn to your own flesh and blood brother."

"Jason that's because I've known Percy longer it has nothing to do with flesh and blood. I love you both Percy is just as much my little brother as you are. Yes I lean on Percy more but that's because it's what I've always done. He's always been there I didn't even know you existed until a few months ago, just give me time Jason"

"I know, I know and I'm sorry but Percy just keeps replacing me. Everyone likes him better even the roman camp replaced me. Did you see those tattoo's on his arm Thalia those symbolize praetorship. I'm praetor it took me years to get that position, and it took Percy months how am I supposed to live up to this guy. My camp has accepted him as the new me, but your camp hasn't accepted me like that. I'm still just second best in their eyes. No one could ever take the place of Percy."

"Jason you have to realize that Percy doesn't want that…"

"Yeah because he's so perfect"

"No he's not. Percy is far from perfect he's good at being a hero but that doesn't mean he's perfect, but I'm not the one who can convince you of that Jason you have to listen to the books and stop judging him for every little thing and look at the big picture. Jason I just need you to give him a chance I'm sure if you did things would work out you might even be friends"

"Ya I'm sure that will happen" Jason said sarcastically. Didn't she see he didn't want to give Percy a chance? He also didn't want to admit that Thalia may be right, so instead he turned his back on her and went into his room and slammed the door in her face.

Thalia stood there and she sighed "I can only do so much Jason you have to do the rest yourself. Besides can't you see how much Percy has had to suffer? You don't want that Jason and I don't want that for you" Thalia whispered to the empty room. She turned and unlocked the door before going to sit on the couch to sulk. Her time alone didn't last long though before too long Hercules and Perseus came in. Hercules made his way to the guys room.

Perseus stopped "hey Thalia Hera said tomorrow morning same time ok"

"Ya whatever"

Perseus sighed "I guess your talk with Jason didn't go so well"

"I don't know what to do" Thalia erupted standing up "he wants me to choose between him and Percy he wants me to lean on him more, but I don't know how to. I can barely open myself up as it is and Percy's been around so long, I just don't know what to do. Why can't Jason see that? Percy means as much to me as Jason does. I mean I love my little brother, but I love Percy like my little brother. And then Jason says he'll never measure up to Percy, but it's not like Percy asks for that. I just…I can't…" Thalia cursed herself as her voice cracked and tears began to slip down her cheeks. Perseus had stood there listening to her rant and he wrapped her in a hug. Thalia stiffened as per usual and then she relaxed and sobbed into Perseus not knowing what else to do. What if Percy and Jason don't get along? The Romans and the Greeks will continue to fight, it would be a disaster.

"Don't worry Thalia have faith in Jason. So he's a little jealous, like father like son he has a lot of pride, but don't worry I think with these books and with Percy here things will work themselves out. You just have to have patience and yes they might fight but you just have to let it happen. Fighting is how guys communicate sometimes"

Thalia pulled away and wiped her tears "well guys are stupid"

Perseus just laughed "yeah I guess we are"

Thalia nodded and walked toward her room then she turned around "hey Perseus"

"Ya"

"Thanks"

"Anytime lil sis anytime" Perseus watched her walk into her room and then he sat down on the couch and sighed this thing was going to get a whole lot worse before it was going to get better. He just knew it, and he was worried about his half little brother and sister and he was also worried about Percy that boy was hiding too much, and Perseus knew it wouldn't be pretty when everyone found out what it was. And yet there was something about Percy somehow he just knew that kid was going to surprise him, surprise all of them. Because that kid was something different, something special. Perseus sighed again and figured he'd check out the magical box for a while, who knows what he could learn from it while he had the chance.

Meanwhile Percy had pulled Nico aside for a moment "hey Nics I have a question. Thalia mentioned a five year old me what the heck was she talking about?"

Nico burst into laughter "oh yeah! Before you came here the fates decided to bring in the five year old version of you."

"What"

Nico laughed some more and proceeded to tell Percy the whole story only leaving out the part about Gabe and the abuse. Nico wanted to bring it up he wanted to ask Percy why he hadn't ever mentioned it before, but he knew Percy would freeze up and put on that fake smile he wore so often now and then he would block Nico out. Because even though Percy had a gift of getting people to spill their troubles to him, he himself had problems spilling his troubles to anyone else. So Nico left it as is and told Percy good night and went to his room hades stopped Nico before he made it into his room.

"Son I have a question. Have I ever hurt you?" this question had been bugging him since Nico had let on that hades had been mad at him, and the boy had even flinched. It worried him that he would do anything to harm his son.

Nico flinched only slightly, "never anything physical don't worry dad"

"But I have hurt you"

"Dad look I don't want to talk about it right now"

"Please Nico don't shut me out"

"Dad it's in the books ok so can we just wait till then"

"Fine but we will talk son whether you like it or not" and with that hades was gone. Nico sighed great he was not looking forward to that conversation thank god it was probably only mentioned in one of the last books. He went straight in and to bed.

Right after Nico left Poseidon found Percy and offered to guide him to his room. Percy followed behind in somewhat awkward silence. Percy walked into the room and nodded appreciatively "cool" he stated

Poseidon smiled "thanks! Now Percy I would like to have a word with you."

Percy stopped gazing around in awe and stiffened up just a bit, and turned to fully face his dad "ok, about what?"

"About Gabe and how he treated you"

"There's nothing to talk about it was a long time ago I'm over it now"

"Percy please listen I know he abused you, I now he hurt you so will you please talk to me"

"About what dad! About how I used to cry all the time! About how I used to hide in the closet and pray to whoever was out there that he wouldn't find me! I don't want to talk about it, I was a kid back then but I'm not anymore. I stood up and I moved on! So trust me when I say there's nothing to talk about."

"Percy something obviously happened to you, after all you almost fought Hercules today! Percy you're going to get yourself killed being so reckless"

"Dad I'm not a kid anymore, and besides that you don't even know me. I'm not even born in this time, yet you think you understand me because you read a few chapters out of a book! You have no idea dad so don't even try to act like you do."

"Maybe if you opened up a little then I might be able to know you better. Look I'm sorry if you've had to go through a lot. A demi god's life is hard and for that reason I am sorry you were born Perseus"

Percy laughed softly and shook his head at his dad "Yup and you see that was not the thing to say dad. A kid doesn't want their dad to tell them he wished they weren't born, that's not what we want to hear. Ugh! Just… you know what I'm just going to go to bed ok"

"Percy wait!" but Percy was gone and the door to the guys room slammed shut. Poseidon sighed why did his son have to be so stubborn and perhaps that last bit wasn't the right thing to say. It was just he didn't know how to act with Percy he was very different then his other sons. Percy was his only son that was so, so, so… impertinent. Nico was right there was no better word for it then that. He sighed and left the room. He ran into his two other children on his way.

They took one look at his face and winced "didn't go well did it dad" Theseus said

Poseidon nodded "nope it was awful, I just succeeded in making him mad"

"We could talk to him for you dad"

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea boys. Why don't you just give him some space?"

Orion and Theseus nodded, although they really didn't want to. Maybe space was what Percy needed.

They entered their room to see Percy there looking at the boat bed the five year old Percy had slept in except it had gotten bigger to account for how much Percy had grown. They snorted when they saw the look on his face "seriously I have to sleep in that"

"Well your five year old self enjoyed it"

"Yeah I'm sure" Percy huffed out

Orion grimaced yup dad wasn't lying when he said he'd made Percy mad

"Well were going to bed so…"

"Ya alright I guess I got no choice. It'll be heaven compared to where I've been sleeping I guess."

And with that he dived under the covers and turned his back on them the two brothers followed suit and Orion turned out the lights.

2 hours later

Orion and Theseus woke up to Percy's screams. They ran over to see Percy, he was covered in sweat and tangled in his sheets as he struggled. Orion knelt down at Percy's side and shook him, Percy woke up and punched him right in the face. Then he stopped and took a few deep breaths taking in his surroundings. He looked toward Orion who was cradling his jaw. "sorry"

"Nice right hook Perce"

"What the hell" Theseus said

"Sorry nightmare don't worry about it"

"Demigod dreams don't happen here"

"It wasn't a demigod dream it was just a nightmare. Chill they happen to everyone"

"Not like that they don't" Orion stated

Percy got up

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to take a shower ok jeez" and with that he left Orion and Theseus stared after him until the bathroom door shut behind him. Then they looked at each other and they both got back into bed there wasn't much more they could do. They would ask him more in the morning.

Next morning they woke up to see Percy's bed exactly as he'd left it the night before, with blankets everywhere. It was obvious he hadn't gone back to sleep. They went out into the living room to see Percy watching tele…whatever they called it.

"Percy did you get any sleep last night"

Percy turned and looked at them he looked a bit tired, but you could barely tell. If they hadn't been looking for it they may not have noticed. Percy was very good at hiding things.

"Percy come on tell us what's wrong. Why didn't you go back to sleep?

Percy just shrugged

"Don't you want to sleep?"

"Percy you can't keep doing this"

"No matter how much you try to hide it we can tell"

"Percy not sleeping isn't good for you especially as a hero"

"Yes! I get it already! Look it's not that I don't want to sleep. It's that I can't sleep ok, I just can't." Percy looked down then over to the TV "look at the time" he said "we'd better go don't want to keep Hera waiting" Orion and Theseus looked at each other there was something Percy wasn't telling him and they were going to get it out of him.

AN: ok so there's that filler chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, I was going to put Tartarus in this chapter but as I was typing it just felt to forced. So you'll have to wait a bit longer before that comes out anyway please review! …click that little review button…please…come on you know you want too…


	16. Chapter 16

AN: hey guys sorry about the long wait I've had a crappy last few weeks, I've had finals and work and to top it all off I caught a cold. so I've been trying to sleep it off. Anyway I felt so bad when I finally got around to reading your reviews, because it had been a long time. I'm so so sorry but here's another chapter so I hope you enjoy! And it's Christmas break so I'll try to update quicker.

DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely nothing... well not nothing I own all the books in the series but I still don't own the characters or story…

Percy and his two half-brothers walked in and took their normal places

"You ok Perce you look slightly upset" Nico asked his 'brother'

"I'm fine Nics" Percy said putting on a smile "I just don't like waking up early"

Nico laughed and agreed with Percy, but on the inside he was a bit worried after all Nico was very good at putting on masks and he could tell Percy was putting one on right now. He didn't ask though he'd have to wait and get Percy alone during the next break.

Jason was sitting farther away from normal he felt a bit guilty about what he said to Thalia and he wanted to just stay away for a while.

Perseus took one look at Orion and laughed "nice bruise who slugged you"

"Percy did" that just made Perseus laugh harder and Hercules rolled his eyes idiot couldn't even block a punch from a boy who looked like a walking twig.

Orion glared at Perseus and then looked over to Percy who was smiling that same fake smile he had worn before, he sighed.

Theseus noticed and gave Orion a quick nod to let him know that he was working on a plan to get Percy to spill whatever he was hiding after all Theseus was definitely the most clever of the group

Hera picked up the book and read out **"We Get Advice from a Poodle," **

Many of the gods shot Percy odd looks

**We were pretty miserable that night.**

**We camped out in the woods, a hundred yards from the main road, in a marshy clearing that local kids had obviously been using for parties.**

**The ground was littered with flattened soda cans and fast-food wrappers.**

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose at the thought of sleeping in such a disgusting place.

**We'd taken some food and blankets from Aunty Em's, but we didn't dare light a fire to dry our damp clothes. The Furies and Medusa had provided enough excitement for one day. We didn't want to attract anything else.**

Both Athena and Poseidon agreed with this statement

**We decided to sleep in shifts. I volunteered to take first watch.**

Athena nodded that was a good plan.

**Anabeth curled up on the blankets and was snoring as soon as her head hit the ground. Grover fluttered with his flying shoes to the lowest bough of a tree, put his back to the trunk, and stared at the night sky.**

Artemis smiled thinking of the stars and then of Zoë she was very worried about what had happened to her current lieutenant, but at the same time she knew that Zoë was probably happy somewhere among the stars although that thought didn't lessen the pain or sadness she felt.

**"Go ahead and sleep," I told him. "I'll wake you if there's trouble."**

**He nodded, but still didn't close his eyes. "It makes me sad, Percy."**

**"What does? The fact that you signed up for this stupid quest?"**

There were a couple of snorts from around the room

**"No. ****_This _****makes me sad." He pointed at all the garbage on the ground. "And the sky. You can't even see the stars.**

Artemis grimaced she agreed with the satyr, it was sad. In the middle of a forest and still the stars were covered by smog.

** They've polluted the sky. This is a terrible time to be a satyr."**

**"Oh, yeah. I guess you'd be an environmentalist."**

Thalia rolled her eyes at her cousin's response "nice going now Grovers going to get mad at you"

Percy smiled sheepishly" ya probably not the smartest thing to say"

"Percy nothing you say is the smartest thing" Nico teased and Percy scowled good naturedly and sprayed him with water

**He glared at me. "Only a human wouldn't be. Your species is clogging up the world so fast ... ah, never mind. It's useless to lecture a human. At the rate things are going, I'll never find Pan."**

Hermes sighed at the mention of his lost son

**"Pam? Like the cooking spray?"**

Hermes glared in Percy's direction and Percy put up his hands in surrender "sorry that's what it sounded like"

**"Pan!" he cried indignantly. "P-A-N. The great god Pan! What do you think I want a searcher's license for?"**

**A strange breeze rustled through the clearing, temporarily overpowering the stink of trash and muck. It brought the smell of berries and wildflowers and clean rain water, things that might've once been in these woods. Suddenly I was nostalgic for something I'd never known.**

Hermes sat up a bit straighter with new interest in this young satyr maybe he would finally be the one to find pan

**"Tell me about the search," I said.**

**Grover looked at me cautiously, as if he were afraid I was just making fun.**

Percy huffed indigently "I would never"

**"The God of Wild Places disappeared two thousand years ago," he told me. "A sailor off the coast of Ephesus heard a mysterious voice crying out from the shore, 'Tell them that the great god Pan has died!' When humans heard the news, they believed it. They've been pillaging Pan's kingdom ever since. But for the satyrs, Pan was our lord and master. He protected us and the wild places of the earth. We refuse to believe that he died. In every generation, the bravest satyrs pledge their lives to finding Pan. They search the earth, exploring all the wildest places, hoping to find where he is hidden, and wake him from his sleep."**

Percy, Thalia and Nico looked saddened each thinking of their last encounter with said god. Percy smiled though after all the world had Grover now and he knew Grover wouldn't let them down.

**"And you want to be a searcher."**

**"It's my life's dream," he said. "My father was a searcher. And my Uncle Ferdinand ... the statue you saw back there—"**

**"Oh, right, sorry."**

**Grover shook his head. "Uncle Ferdinand knew the risks. So did my dad. But I'll succeed. I'll be the first searcher to return alive."**

Artemis smiled and so did Hermes it was nice to see a soul so full of hope and innocence perhaps he was right and he would be the first

**"Hang on—****_the first?"_**

**Grover took his reed pipes out of his pocket. "No searcher has ever come back. Once they set out, they disappear. They're never seen alive again."**

"He is a very brave satyr to go after a goal that seems so hopeless" Hestia said she really liked this satyr he had a lot of goodness in him.

**"Not once in two thousand years?"**

**"No."**

**"And your dad? You have no idea what happened to him?"**

**"None."**

**"But you still want to go," I said, amazed. "I mean, you really think you'll be the one to find Pan?"**

Percy smiled thinking of his friend it had amazed him time and time again that Grover despite being scared beyond belief never gave up he kept searching. More than once it had given Percy the will to not give up either, he owed Grover a lot.

**"I have to believe that, Percy. Every searcher does. It's the only thing that keeps us from despair when we look at what humans have done to the world. I have to believe Pan can still be awakened."**

Again the three demigods looked saddened

**I stared at the orange haze of the sky and tried to understand how Grover could pursue a dream that seemed so hopeless. Then again, was I any better?**

Poseidon grimaced at the reminder

**"How are we going to get into the Underworld?" I asked him. "I mean, what chance do we have against a god?"**

"No chance at all" hades laughed evilly Demeter rolled her eyes and then made the hand motion for crazy and pointed at hades who glared at her in return

**"I don't know," he admitted. "But back at Medusa's, when you were searching her office? Annabeth was telling me—"**

**"Oh, I forgot. Annabeth will have a plan all figured out."**

"Don't be so harsh" Athena scolded lightly

**"Don't be so hard on her, Percy. She's had a tough life, but she's a good person. After all, she forgave me..." His voice faltered.**

"Forgave him for what" Apollo asked

"You'll see" the three demigods that knew replied and Apollo scowled he didn't like when he didn't know things

**"What do you mean?" I asked. "Forgave you for what?"**

"See look Percy wants to know too" the three ignored him and Apollo pouted

**Suddenly, Grover seemed very interested in playing notes on his pipes.**

**"Wait a minute," I said. "Your first keeper job was five years ago. Annabeth has been at camp five years. She wasn't ... I mean, your first assignment that went wrong—"**

"Wow you actually put that together on your own it's a miracle"

"Ha very funny" Percy stated sarcastically

"I thought it was" Nico said smiling

Percy scowled at his cousins/siblings

**"I can't talk about it," Grover said, and his quivering lower lip suggested he'd start crying if I pressed him. "But as I was saying, back at Medusa's, Annabeth and I agreed there's something strange going on with this quest. Some thing isn't what it seems."**

**"Well, duh. I'm getting blamed for stealing a thunder bolt that Hades took."**

Athena rolled her eyes "I'm sure that's not what they mean"

**"That's not what I mean," Grover said.**

"Ha-ha Athena you think like a goat" Poseidon laughed and Athena glared

** "The Fur—The Kindly Ones were sort of holding back. Like Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy ... why did she wait so long to try to kill you? Then on the bus, they just weren't as aggressive as they could've been."**

**"They seemed plenty aggressive to me."**

"No its true, if they had been you probably wouldn't have gotten away without a scratch" hades mused what he couldn't figure out was why they were less aggressive.

**Grover shook his head. "They were screeching at us: 'Where is it? Where?'"**

Athena's brain was going 100 miles a minute as she thought about what that could mean… maybe Zeus's bolt wasn't the only thing that had been stolen.

**"Asking about me," I said.**

**"Maybe ... but Annabeth and I, we both got the feeling they weren't asking about a person. They said 'Where is ****_it_****?' They seemed to be asking about an object."**

**"That doesn't make sense."**

**"I know. But if we've misunderstood something about this quest, and we only have nine days to find the master bolt..." He looked at me like he was hoping for answers, but I didn't have any.**

**I thought about what Medusa had said: I was being used by the gods. **

The gods grimaced unable to deny it. Poseidon especially, he had claimed his son because he needed help, but he loved his son and definitely didn't want him to get hurt.

**What lay ahead of me was worse than petrification. "I haven't been straight with you," I told Grover. "I don't care about the master bolt. I agreed to go to the Underworld so I could bring back my mother."**

Hades smiled a crazy glint in his eye "try it young hero"

Percy smiled to himself just wait he thought

**Grover blew a soft note on his pipes. "I know that, Percy. But are you sure that's the only reason?"**

**"I'm not doing it to help my father. He doesn't care about me. I don't care about him."**

Poseidon grimaced

Percy looked at his father and smiled reassuringly and Poseidon smiled back in relief

**Grover gazed down from his tree branch. "Look, Percy, I'm not as smart as Annabeth. I'm not as brave as you. But I'm pretty good at reading emotions. You're glad your dad is alive. You feel good that he's claimed you, and part of you wants to make him proud. That's why you mailed Medusa's head to Olympus. You wanted him to notice what you'd done."**

Percy blushed a bit and looked down, he did want his dad to be proud of him, but then what son didn't. The thing was Percy often thought that he wasn't a good enough son, after all he messed up more often than not and had gotten people killed. And on their last quest to Rome Percy had been basically useless so what was there to be proud of. He sighed and shook the thoughts away now was not the time for that.

**"Yeah? Well maybe satyr emotions work differently than human emotions. Because you're wrong. I don't care what he thinks."**

**Grover pulled his feet up onto the branch. "Okay, Percy. Whatever."**

**"Besides, I haven't done anything worth bragging about. We barely got out of New York and we're stuck here with no money and no way west."**

"You've done quite a lot in all actuality" Athena of all people stated "you went back for your friends on the bus and then instead of just running away from medusa you slayed her. I'd say that you've done a lot." Everyone stared at her incredulously and Athena sighed "what it's true, even I can admit that"

Percy smiled the future was already looking up maybe Athena wouldn't full out hate him in the future

**Grover looked at the night sky, like he was thinking about that problem. "How about ****_I_**** take first watch, huh? You get some sleep."**

**I wanted to protest, but he started to play Mozart, soft and sweet, and I turned away, my eyes stinging. After a few bars of Piano Concerto no. 12, I was asleep.**

**In my dreams, I stood in a dark cavern before a gaping pit.**

Percy grimaced he hated those demigod dreams.

**Gray mist creatures churned all around me, whispering rags of smoke that I somehow knew were the spirits of the dead.**

The gods tensed they recognized the pit and looked worried.

**They tugged at my clothes, trying to pull me back, but I felt compelled to walk forward to the very edge of the chasm.**

Poseidon gripped his throne please listen to the dead, don't go any closer he begged inside his head

**Looking down made me dizzy.**

**The pit yawned so wide and was so completely black, I knew it must be bottomless. Yet I had a feeling that some thing was trying to rise from the abyss, something huge and evil.**

Zeus scoffed Cronus couldn't rise it was impossible

**_The little hero, _****an amused voice echoed far down in the darkness. ****_Too weak, too young, but perhaps you will do._**

**The voice felt ancient—cold and heavy. It wrapped around me like sheets of lead.**

**_They have misled you, boy, _****it said. ****_Barter with me.I will give you what you want._**

"Yeah right" Thalia said anger clear in her voice

**A shimmering image hovered over the void: my mother, frozen at the moment she'd dissolved in a shower of gold. Her face was distorted with pain, as if the Minotaur were still squeezing her neck. Her eyes looked directly at me, pleading: ****_Go!_**

Percy clenched his fists as he remembered that moment. Then he sighed sadly he missed his mom he had not seen her for a long time and although he had promised to make it home to her he didn't know if he'd be able to keep said promise

**I tried to cry out, but my voice wouldn't work.**

**Cold laughter echoed from the chasm.**

Hestia glared at the book sick bastard she thought

**An invisible force pulled me forward. It would drag me into the pit unless I stood firm.**

Percy flinched an image of falling into the darkness coming back to him for a second before he regained his senses.

**_Help me rise, boy. _****The voice became hungrier. ****_Bring me the bolt. Strike a blow against the treacherous gods!_**

**The spirits of the dead whispered around me, ****_No! Wake!_**

"Listen to the dead young one" hades stated he looked very serious no hero deserved the hell that was depths of Tartarus

**The image of my mother began to fade. The thing in the pit tightened its unseen grip around me.**

**I realized it wasn't interested in pulling me in. It was using me to pull itself ****_out._**

"Impossible" Zeus stated although on the inside he was worried

**_Good, _****it murmured. ****_Good._**

**_Wake! _****the dead whispered. ****_Wake!_**

**Someone was shaking me.**

Poseidon breathed out a sigh of relief good his son should stay far away from that pit.

**My eyes opened, and it was daylight.**

**"Well," Annabeth said, "the zombie lives."**

**I was trembling from the dream. I could still feel the grip of the chasm monster around my chest. "How long was I asleep?"**

**"Long enough for me to cook breakfast." Annabeth tossed me a bag of nacho-flavored corn chips from Aunty Em's snack bar.**

"That's cooking breakfast" Hera scoffed

"It is for a demigod on a quest" Percy shot back

** "And Grover went exploring. Look, he found a friend."**

**My eyes had trouble focusing.**

**Grover was sitting cross-legged on a blanket with something fuzzy in his lap, a dirty, unnaturally pink stuffed animal.**

**No. It wasn't a stuffed animal. It was a pink poodle.**

Artemis looked taken aback what a horrible thing to do to an animal

**The poodle yapped at me suspiciously. Grover said, "No, he's not."**

**I blinked. "Are you ... talking to that thing?"**

"No he talking to his imaginary friend" Thalia teased

**The poodle growled.**

**"This ****_thing_****," Grover warned, "is our ticket west. Be nice to him."**

"It's a him" Apollo winced "wow that dog has to have some masculinity issues"

**"You can talk to animals?"**

**Grover ignored the question. "Percy, meet Gladiola. Gladiola, Percy."**

"Definitely has issues" Hermes stated agreeing with Apollo a pink poodle who is a male yet has the name gladiola I feel sorry for it

**I stared at Annabeth, figuring she'd crack up at this practical joke they were playing on me, but she looked deadly serious.**

**"I'm not saying hello to a pink poodle," I said. "Forget it."**

"Yes Percy don't say hi be different!" Apollo shouted dramatically before hurrying to sit back down as Artemis had an arrow aimed at his head

**"Percy," Annabeth said. "I said hello to the poodle. You say hello to the poodle."**

**The poodle growled.**

**I said hello to the poodle.**

"Aww is Percy scared of the little pink poodle" Ares sneered Percy splashed him with water as well as Poseidon. Ares wanted to cream the punk, but he figured old fish face would stop him

**Grover explained that he'd come across Gladiola in the woods and they'd struck up a conversation. The poodle had run away from a rich local family, who'd posted a $200 reward for his return. Gladiola didn't really want to go back to his family,**

**but he was willing to if it meant helping Grover.**

"How sweet" Hestia said smiling

**"How does Gladiola know about the reward?" I asked.**

**"He read the signs," Grover said. "Duh."**

**"Of course," I said. "Silly me."**

"Percy and his sarcasm got to love it" Nico stated laughing

Percy smiled "yup I'm awesome"

**"So we turn in Gladiola," Annabeth explained in her best strategy voice, "we get money, and we buy tickets to Los Angeles. Simple."**

**I thought about my dream—the whispering voices of the dead, the thing in the chasm, and my mother's face, shimmering as it dissolved into gold. All that might be waiting for me in the West.**

"Oh ya, I can't wait" Poseidon said sarcasm dripping from his voice

**"Not another bus," I said warily.**

**"No," Annabeth agreed.**

**She pointed downhill, toward train tracks I hadn't been able to see last night in the dark. "There's an Amtrak station half a mile that way. According to Gladiola, the west bound train leaves at noon."**

"Let's try not to destroy this one okay Percy" Apollo stated like he was talking to a five year old

"Alright which one of you heroes wants to read next" Hera asked

"I will" Theseus offered as he stood and took the book from the queen of the gods.

AN: I know it's short, but let's face it there's only so much I can do with this chapter. Anyway, like I said earlier, sorry for the wait. NOW REVIEW I COMMAND YOU!...please.


	17. Chapter 17

AN: Hello…. To answer some of your comments mainly about Hercules… yes right now he only slightly comments and I know your all looking forward to a Hercules gets his butt kicked scene, trust me so am I. But I'm sorry to disappoint you all but that probably won't happen in this book… I know and I'm sorry but I have a lot I want to do with these books and I can't do everything in one book. Besides wouldn't it be much more gratifying for Hercules to get his butt kicked during the third book, after all that is when Percy is being compared to Hercules the most. Also about bringing Bianca in yes I will be bringing her in during the third and fourth books. Oh and about Tartarus I have taken all of your comments into consideration and have an idea planned although I do need a bit of help (I hate having to ask for help on a story that's mine however I'm putting aside my pride to ask you all for some advice). Ok I let it slip that Theseus has a plan to trick Percy into telling him and Orion what's wrong, the thing is all my ideas for that plan sound ridiculous and I want to hear some of your ideas to help me out a bit… so let's think of this as a mini competition, whomever comes up with the best plan will get featured in my story, and I will dedicate the chapter and give them full credit to them and they will receive all my thanks. So please submit your ideas either in the comments or in a private message to my page…THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP NOW PLEASE ENJOY THE STORY!

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing...nothing at all (sobs quietly in darkened corner)

"**I Plunge to my Death," **Theseus read out looking to Percy in concern

"Well this sounds like a nice calm chapter doesn't it" Poseidon said sarcasm dripping in his voice

"Actually uncle P it sounds like a really horrifying chapter in which Percy will probably be getting hurt" Apollo corrected. Poseidon doused him in freezing water and Apollo pouted he was just trying to make Poseidon feel better jeez.

The other heroes looked concerned, except Hercules who rolled his eyes in contempt and Jason who clenched his fists at his sisters concern towards Percy. Please he obviously didn't die in fact the stupid hero probably didn't even get that hurt.

**We spent two days on the Amtrak train, heading west through hills, over rivers, past amber waves of grain.**

Thalia and Nico snorted "nice"

Demeter smiled as well; she did very much enjoy that song.

**We weren't attacked once, but I didn't relax.**

"Good at least you're not jinxing it this time" Nico stated Percy stuck his tongue out at Nico

**I felt that we were traveling around in a display case, being watched from above and maybe from below, that something was waiting for the right opportunity.**

Thalia tensed a bit Percy had very good senses and she had a feeling that he was right and dad was watching Percy waiting for the right moment.

**I tried to keep a low profile because my name and picture were splattered over the front pages of several East Coast newspapers.**

"How in the world did you manage to get all the way from New York to Los Angeles without getting caught?" Thalia Questioned

"Good luck?" Percy suggested although it came out as more of a question.

"Ya all of Grover's and Annabeth's good luck," Nico stated "I'm sure Percy's luck will show up soon."

** The ****_Trenton Register-News _****showed a photo taken by a tourist as I got off the Greyhound bus. I had a wild look in my eyes. My sword was a metallic blur in my hands. It might've been a baseball bat or a lacrosse stick.**

"See look there it is; Percy's luck" Nico stated everyone laughed.

**The picture's caption read:**

**_Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson, wanted for questioning in the Long Island disappearance of his mother two weeks ago, is shown here fleeing from the bus where he accosted several elderly female passengers._**

Percy snorted "ya I accosted them" he put emphasis on the words I and them.

"Well you did slice two of them in half with your sword"

"They started it"

**_The bus exploded on an east New Jersey roadside shortly after Jackson fled the scene._**

"Zeus's fault not mine" Percy stated Zeus glared and his brothers snickered

**_ Based on eyewitness accounts, police believe the boy may be traveling with two teenage accomplices. His stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, has offered a cash reward for information leading to his capture._**

"Capture" Poseidon bit out glaring at the book planning in his head a horrible death for said man

**"Don't worry," Anna Beth told me. "Mortal police could never find us." But she didn't sound so sure.**

**The rest of the day I spent alternately pacing the length of the train (because I had a really hard time sitting still) or looking out the windows.**

"That's normal for you Perce, you can't sit still to save your life"

**Once, I spotted a family of centaurs galloping across a wheat field, bows at the ready, as they hunted lunch.** **The little boy centaur, who was the size of a second-grader on a pony, caught my eye and waved.**

"How cute" Aphrodite cooed imagining the little boy centaur he was probably so adorable

** I looked around the passenger car, but nobody else had noticed. The adult riders all had their faces buried in laptop computers or magazines.**

"The mist Percy" Thalia said teasingly

"Oh shut up Thalia" Percy stated

**Another time, toward evening, I saw something huge moving through the woods. I could've sworn it was a lion, except that lions don't live wild in America, and this thing was the size of a Hummer. Its fur glinted gold in the evening light. Then it leaped through the trees and was gone.**

"The Nemean lion" Artemis whispered in shock

Hercules looked proud of himself after all he had defeated said lion.

Percy and Thalia burst into laughter remembering the lion's death by space food. Everyone else looked at the two oddly but they waved them off.

**Our reward money for returning Gladiola the poodle had only been enough to purchase tickets as far as Denver. We couldn't get berths in the sleeper car, so we dozed in our seats. My neck got stiff. I tried not to drool in my sleep, since Anna Beth was sitting right next to me.**

"Aww how cute trying to look good for the girl" Aphrodite squealed

Percy smiled sadly he knew time had stopped outside Olympus but he still couldn't help but worry for his girlfriend.

**Grover kept snoring and bleating and waking me up. Once, he shuffled around and his fake foot fell off. Anna Beth and I had to stick it back on before any of the other passengers noticed.**

Thalia shook her head smiling "ya that sounds like him"

**"So," Anna Beth asked me, once ****_we'd _****gotten Grover's sneaker readjusted. "Who wants your help?"**

**"What do you mean?"**

**"When you were asleep just now, you mumbled, 'I won't help you.' Who were you dreaming about?"**

**I was reluctant to say anything. It was the second time I'd dreamed about the evil voice from the pit.**..

Poseidon looked at his son worriedly

**But it bothered me so much I finally told her.**

**Anna Beth was quiet for a long time. "That doesn't sound like Hades. He always appears on a black throne, and he never laughs."**

"I do to laugh, geez she makes me seem so inhumane"

"Good she has you pegged then" Demeter stated

"Yet your daughter loves me" hades shot back and Demeter glared

"Ooh burn" Apollo laughed before he was chocked by a vine "I give! I give!"

Demeter let him go a satisfied smile on her face

"And you call me inhumane" hades whispered to himself

**"He offered my mother in trade. Who else could do that?"**

**"I guess ... if he meant, 'Help me rise from the Underworld.' If he wants war with the Olympians. But why ask you to bring him the master bolt if he already has it?"**

The eldest gods looked at each other in worry what if it wasn't hades

Zeus crossed his arms no it had to be hades it just had to be

And hades knew it wasn't him who stole the bolt and if it wasn't Poseidon who was it? Whether father was the master mind behind the plot or not was not the big problem right now, but who the hero was that betrayed them

**I shook my head, wishing I knew the answer. I thought about what Grover had told me, that the Furies on the bus seemed to have been looking for something.**

**_Where is it? Where?_**

**Maybe Grover sensed my emotions. He snorted in his sleep, muttered something about vegetables, and turned his head.**

"Actually Percy I'm pretty sure he was just dreaming I don't think he sensed your emotions"

Percy just shrugged

**Anna Beth readjusted his cap so it covered his horns. "Percy, you can't barter with Hades. You know that, right? He's deceitful, heartless, and greedy.**

"Again jeez Athena your daughter is very harsh" hades stated yes he was deceitful and greedy but heartless come on that was taking it a bit too far

Nico looked a bit offended as well yes he and his dad didn't have the best relationship but at least he knew his father cared he just had a hard time showing it

**I don't care if his Kindly Ones weren't as aggressive this time—"**

**"This time?" I asked. "You mean you've run into them before?"**

**Her hand crept up to her necklace. She fingered a glazed white bead painted with the image of a pine tree, one of her clay end-of-summer tokens. "Let's just say I've got no love for the Lord of the Dead. You can't be tempted to make a deal for your mom."**

Thalia sighed her being turned into a tree had ruined everything. Maybe if that hadn't happened Annabeth wouldn't be so hurt and Luke wouldn't have turned against the gods and Grover would have had more faith in himself, maybe things would have been different if she had been stronger.

**"What would you do if it was your dad?"**

**"That's easy," she said. "I'd leave him to rot."**

Athena looked shocked could she have really had a daughter with someone so awful

"Doesn't worry Lady Athena" Percy stated "Annabeth loves her father and they get along really well now they just hit a few bumps along the way"

Athena smiled at the boy

**"You're not serious?"**

**Annabeth's gray eyes fixed on me. She wore the same expression she'd worn in the woods at camp, the moment she drew her sword against the hellhound. "My dad's resented me since the day I was born, Percy," she said. "He never wanted a baby. When he got me, he asked Athena to take me back and raise me on Olympus because he was too busy with his work. She wasn't happy about that. She told him heroes had to be raised by their mortal parent."**

Athena had to tell herself to remember what Percy had just said and that the man was a good guy

**"But how ... I mean, I guess you weren't born in a hospital..."**

"That's a good question how does that work" Nico asked

**"I appeared on my father's doorstep, in a golden cradle, carried down from Olympus by Zephyr the West Wind. **

"Wow cool" Nico stated

**You'd think my dad would remember that as a miracle, right? Like, maybe he'd take some digital photos or some thing. But he always talked about my arrival as if it were the most inconvenient thing that had ever happened to him. When I was five he got married and totally forgot about Athena. He got a 'regular' mortal wife, and had two 'regular' mortal kids, and tried to pretend I didn't exist."**

Athena looked saddened her poor daughter didn't deserve that in fact all the gods and goddesses were saddened how many of their children had gone through the same hardships as a child

**I stared out the train window. The lights of a sleeping town were drifting by. I wanted to make Anna Beth feel better, but I didn't know how.**

**"My mom married a really awful guy," I told her.**

"Really awful doesn't even begin to cover it"

**"Grover said she did it to protect me, to hide me in the scent of a human family. Maybe that's what your dad was thinking."**

**Anna Beth kept worrying at her necklace. She was pinching the gold college ring that hung with the beads. It occurred to me that the ring must be her father's. I wondered why she wore it if she hated him so much.**

"Because she doesn't hate him kelp for brains" Thalia stated "it's like any demigod and their dads/moms sometimes you hate him or her for the things he or she does or says but he or she is still your father/mother and you still want to make him or her proud."

**"He doesn't care about me," she said. "His wife—my stepmom—treated me like a freak. She wouldn't let me play with her children. My dad went along with her. Whenever something dangerous happened—you know, something with monsters—they would both look at me resentfully, like, 'How dare you put our family at risk.' Finally, I took the hint. I wasn't wanted. I ran away."**

**"How old were you?"**

**"Same age as when I started camp. Seven."**

Athena looked downward the only thing keeping her from being super angry was what Percy had told her earlier but still she was sad for the pain her daughter must have gone through

**"But ... you couldn't have gotten all the way to Half-Blood Hill by yourself."**

**"Not alone, no. Athena watched over me, guided me toward help. I made a couple of unexpected friends who took care of me, for a short time, anyway."**

**I wanted to ask what happened, but Anna Beth seemed lost in sad memories. So I listened to the sound of Grover snoring and gazed out the train windows as the dark fields of Ohio raced by.**

"Don't you hate that when you really want to know the whole story but you know if you ask you won't get an answer" Apollo said pointedly looking at Percy and the others who all smiled and ignored him

**Toward the end of our second day on the train, June 13, eight days before the summer solstice, we passed through some golden hills and over the Mississippi River into St. Louis. Anna Beth craned her neck to see the Gateway Arch, which looked to me like a huge shopping bag handle stuck on the city.**

"Only you would see something so beautiful and call it a shopping bag handle" Athena sated in annoyance

Percy shrugged he was used to those kind of comments from Annabeth but hey it was what he thought

**"I want to do that," she sighed.**

**"What?" I asked.**

**"Build something like that. You ever see the Parthenon, Percy?"**

**"Only in pictures."**

**"Someday, I'm going to see it in person. I'm going to build the greatest monument to the gods, ever. Something that'll last a thousand years."**

Athena smiled at her daughters words

**I laughed. "You? An architect?"**

"What's that supposed to mean?" Athena asked angrily

Percy held up his hands in surrender "just keep reading"

**I don't know why, but I found it funny. Just the idea of Anna Beth trying to sit quietly and draw all day.**

Athena sighed and nodded she could see why he would think such a thing "it's easier for my children Percy because they are used to sitting and reading and focusing, while for you being a son of Poseidon it is harder because in your blood is the sea which is rarely still and silent. ADHD differs based on godly parent."

Percy nodded it did make more sense

**Her cheeks flushed. "Yes, an architect. Athena expects her children to create things, not just tear them down, like a certain god of earthquakes I could mention."**

"Well that's not very nice" Poseidon pouts

**I watched the churning brown water of the Mississippi below.**

**"Sorry," Anna Beth said. "That was mean."**

"Look she apologized happy now" hades asked rolling his eyes

Poseidon brightened up "yes very much so"

**"Can't we work together a little?" I pleaded. "I mean, didn't Athena and Poseidon ever cooperate?"**

**Anna Beth had to think about it. "I guess ... the chariot," she said tentatively. "My mom invented it, but Poseidon created horses out of the crests of waves. So they had to work together to make it complete."**

**"Then we can cooperate, too. Right?"**

Both Poseidon and Athena eyed each other and then glared and looked away unwilling to admit that Percy had a point.

**We rode into the city, Anna Beth watching as the Arch disappeared behind a hotel.**

**"I suppose," she said at last.**

**We pulled into the Amtrak station downtown. The intercom told us we'd have a three-hour layover before departing for Denver.**

**Grover stretched. Before he was even fully awake, he said, "Food."**

Everyone laughed

**"Come on, goat boy," Anna Beth said. "Sightseeing."**

"Worst sightseeing ever" Percy stated

**"Sightseeing?"**

**"The Gateway Arch," she said. "This may be my only chance to ride to the top. Are you coming or not?"**

**Grover and I exchanged looks.**

**I wanted to say no, but I figured that if Anna Beth was going, we couldn't very well let her go alone.**

**Grover shrugged. "As long as there's a snack bar without monsters."**

"Was there?" Nico asked

"No" Percy sated "the snack bar didn't have any monsters"

**The Arch was about a mile from the train station. Late in the day the lines to get in weren't that long. We threaded our way through the underground museum, looking at covered wagons and other junk from the 1800s. It wasn't all that thrilling, but Anna Beth kept telling us interesting facts about how the Arch was built, and Grover kept passing me jelly beans, so I was okay.**

"Yes because jelly beans make everything better" Thalia said sarcastically

"Yup especially when they're blue jelly beans" Percy answered

**I kept looking around, though, at the other people in line. "You smell anything?" I murmured to Grover.**

**He took his nose out of the jelly-bean bag long enough to sniff. "Underground," he said distastefully. "Under ground air always smells like monsters. Probably doesn't mean anything."**

"If only I was so lucky" Percy muttered to himself

**But something felt wrong to me. I had a feeling we shouldn't be here.**

"I'm guessing this is where you plunge to your death" Orion states looking worried

**"Guys," I said. "You know the gods' symbols of power?"**

**Anna Beth had been in the middle of reading about the construction equipment used to build the Arch, but she looked over. "Yeah?"**

**"Well, Hade—"**

**Grover cleared his throat. "We're in a public place... You mean, our friend downstairs?"**

All the guys laughed "sorry but my friend downstairs is not called hades" Apollo laughed. Artemis rolled her eyes men she thought, as the other males laughed and hades scowled.

**"Um, right," I said. "Our friend ****_way _****downstairs. Doesn't he have a hat like Annabeth's?"**

"My helm is way cooler than her baseball cap it's…"

"Ya ya keep reading Theseus" Demeter said cutting off hades who glared at her in return

**"You mean the Helm of Darkness," Anna Beth said. "Yeah, that's his symbol of power. I saw it next to his seat during the winter solstice council meeting."**

**"He was there?" I asked.**

**She nodded. "It's the only time he's allowed to visit Olympus—the darkest day of the year. But his helm is a lot more powerful than my invisibility hat, if what I've heard is true..."**

"Of course it's more powerful than her silly hat" hades huffed

**"It allows him to become darkness," Grover confirmed. "He can melt into shadow or pass through walls. He can't be touched, or seen, or heard. And he can radiate fear so intense it can drive you insane or stop your heart. Why do you think all rational creatures fear the dark?"**

Hades smiled looking slightly insane

**"But then ... how do we know he's not here right now, watching us?" I asked.**

"Why would I waste my precious time watching you when I have many more important things to worry about?" hades stated

**Anna Beth and Grover exchanged looks.**

**"We don't," Grover said.**

**"Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better," I said. "Got any blue jelly beans left?"**

"See blue jelly beans do make everything better" Percy states smiling

**I'd almost mastered my jumpy nerves when I saw the tiny little elevator car we were going to ride to the top of the Arch, and I knew I was in trouble. I hate confined places. They make me nuts.**

"It's my blood in you Poseidon states it doesn't like to be contained"

"Wow I actually never knew that you were claustrophobic" Thalia stated she had never thought about it before but it made sense

**We got shoehorned into the car with this big fat lady and her dog, a Chihuahua with a rhinestone collar. I figured maybe the dog was a seeing-eye Chihuahua, because none of the guards said a word about it.**

That should have given it away that it was a monster Athena thought to herself

**We started going up, inside the Arch. I'd never been in an elevator that went in a curve, and my stomach wasn't too happy about it.**

**"No parents?" the fat lady asked us.**

**She had beady eyes; pointy, coffee-stained teeth; a floppy denim hat, and a denim dress that bulged so much, she looked like a blue-jean blimp.**

The demigods of the future all laughed as well as Poseidon, Apollo, and Hermes

**"They're below," Anna Beth told her. "Scared of heights."**

"Yup Percy, Annabeth has much better excuses then you do" Hazel stated

Percy shrugged "I don't know I'm still liking the circus caravan story"

**"Oh, the poor darlings."**

**The Chihuahua growled. The woman said, "Now, now, sonny. Behave." The dog had beady eyes like its owner, intelligent and vicious.**

**I said, "Sonny. Is that his name?"**

**"No," the lady told me.**

**She smiled, as if that cleared everything up.**

Poseidon had a bad feeling about this

**At the top of the Arch, the observation deck reminded me of a tin can with carpeting. Rows of tiny windows looked out over the city on one side and the river on the other. The view was okay, but if there's anything I like less than a confined space, it's a confined space six hundred feet in the air.**

Hazel suddenly let out a gasp "so that's what you meant when you said…" she trailed off as Percy nodded knowing she was talking about the time after he had fallen off the glacier and he had mentioned falling from a higher distance.

** I was ready to go pretty quick.** **Anna Beth kept talking about structural supports, and how she would've made the windows bigger, and designed a see-through floor.**

Percy shivered at that thought and so did Thalia next to him.

**She probably could've stayed up there for hours, but luckily for me the park ranger announced that the observation deck would be closing in a few minutes.**

**I steered Grover and Anna Beth toward the exit, loaded them into the elevator, and I was about to get in myself when I realized there were already two other tourists inside. No room for me.**

"Oh no" Poseidon whispered he didn't like where this was headed

**The park ranger said, "Next car, sir."**

**"We'll get out," Anna Beth said. "We'll wait with you."**

Poseidon sighed with relief at least with Annabeth there she could keep Percy out of too much trouble

**But that was going to mess everybody up and take even more time, so I said, "Naw, it's okay. I'll see you guys at the bottom."**

Spoke to soon Poseidon thought with a groan

**Grover and Anna Beth both looked nervous, but they let the elevator door slide shut. Their car disappeared down the ramp.**

**Now the only people left on the observation deck were me, a little boy with his parents, the park ranger, and the fat lady with her Chihuahua.**

Athena tensed she had already figured out who the lady and her Chihuahua were and was worried not only for the hero but also for the others left on the observation deck

**I smiled uneasily at the fat lady. She smiled back, her forked tongue flickering between her teeth.**

Thalia gripped Percy's shirt the other gods leaned forward and Ares smirked "yes another fight scene"

**Wait a minute.**

**Forked tongue?**

**Before I could decide if I'd really seen that, her Chihuahua jumped down and started yapping at me.**

**"Now, now, sonny," the lady said. "Does this look like a good time? We have all these nice people here."**

Hestia looked very worried that poor family she thought

**"Doggie!" said the little boy. "Look, a doggie!"**

**His parents pulled him back.**

**The Chihuahua bared his teeth at me, foam dripping from his black lips.**

Now all the other gods and heroes got it and Orion and Theseus looked toward Percy worriedly he was only 12 and he was already facing echidna and her chimera

**"Well, son," the fat lady sighed. "If you insist."**

**Ice started forming in my stomach. "Urn, did you just call that Chihuahua your son?"**

**_"Chimera, _****dear," the fat lady corrected. "Not a Chihuahua. It's an easy mistake to make."**

Poseidon groaned why did it have to be a chimera of all things

**She rolled up her denim sleeves, revealing that the skin of her arms was scaly and green. When she smiled, I saw that her teeth were fangs. The pupils of her eyes were side ways slits, like a reptile's.**

**The Chihuahua barked louder, and with each bark, it grew. First to the size of a Doberman, then to a lion. The bark became a roar.**

**The little boy screamed. His parents pulled him back toward the exit, straight into the park ranger, who stood, paralyzed, gaping at the monster.**

"Oh no those poor people must be so scared" Hestia whispered

**The Chimera was now so tall its back rubbed against the roof.**

"Oh great and to top it all off you have to fight it in that tiny little room"

"Ya just my luck" Percy stated

** It had the head of a lion with a blood-caked mane, the body and hooves of a giant goat, and a serpent for a tail, a ten-foot-long diamondback growing right out of its shaggy behind. The rhinestone dog collar still hung around its neck, and the plate-sized dog tag was now easy to read: CHIMERA—RABID, FIRE-BREATHING, POISONOUS—IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL TARTARUS—EXT. 954.**

Nico snorted storing that info away he would so have to try that

**I realized I hadn't even uncapped my sword.**

"Some hero" Hercules snorted

** My hands were numb. I was ten feet away from the Chimera's bloody maw, and I knew that as soon as I moved, the creature would lunge.**

Poseidon tensed his hands in fists

**The snake lady made a hissing noise that might've been laughter. "Be honored, Percy Jackson. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood.**

"Zeus" Poseidon yelled in anger as he stood to confront his brother; however, Hestia stood quickly and grasped Poseidon's arm pulling him back to his throne. Poseidon wanted so badly to hurt his brother for putting his son in danger, but Hestia's warm hands calmed him and he let himself be pulled back to his throne

** For I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna!"**

**I stared at her. All I could think to say was: "Isn't that a kind of anteater?"**

Poseidon groaned from his seat "why son why do you have to say all the wrong things"

Percy laughed at his father and smiled "it's a gift"

**She howled, her reptilian face turning brown and green with rage. "I hate it when people say that! I hate Australia! Naming that ridiculous animal after me. For that, Percy Jackson, my son shall destroy you!"**

"And you will find that on chapter three of Percy's guide to making gods and monsters angry in three sentences or less" Nico stated and the others laughed the tension in the room dropping slightly

**The Chimera charged, its lion teeth gnashing. I managed to leap aside and dodge the bite.**

**I ended up next to the family and the park ranger, who were all screaming now, trying to pry open the emergency exit doors.**

The tension was back and Hera sighed that poor poor family

**I couldn't let them get hurt. **

Hestia smiled at Percy he was such a nice good hero

**I uncapped my sword, ran to the other side of the deck, and yelled, "Hey, Chihuahua!" The Chimera turned faster than I would've thought possible.**

"Really Percy worst insult ever" Thalia stated Percy ignored her

**Before I could swing my sword, it opened its mouth, emitting a stench like the world's largest barbecue pit, and shot a column of flame straight at me.**

The gods leaned forward getting into the story as Theseus read

**I dove through the explosion. The carpet burst into flames; the heat was so intense, it nearly seared off my eye brows.**

Nico couldnt help it as he laughed imagining the sight of Percy without eyebrows Percy whacked him over the top of the head "hey how did you know I was laughing at you"

"Because I know you Nico"

"Touché"

**Where I had been standing a moment before was a ragged hole in the side of the Arch, with melted metal steaming around the edges.**

**Great, I thought. We just blowtorched a national monument.**

"Ten bucks they blame it on Percy" Apollo said no one took his bet and he pouted

**Riptide was now a shining bronze blade in my hands, and as the Chimera turned, I slashed at its neck.** **That was my fatal mistake. **

"The collar" Athena stated

Poseidon sucked in a breath "did it just say fatal. It did didn't it" Hestia squeezed her bothers hand trying to calm him

**The blade sparked harmlessly off the dog collar. I tried to regain my balance, but I was so worried about defending myself against the fiery lion's mouth, I completely forgot about the serpent tail until it whipped around and sank its fangs into my calf.**

"No" Poseidon called out

Hercules just smirked "knew he couldn't beat it"

Thalia and Nico attached themselves to Percy, seriously how did he get himself out of all these situations alive

Percy on the other hand was nearly biting off his tongue in an attempt not to yelp or scream he may have felt a lot worse than this in his time but pain was pain and damn did it hurt

**My whole leg was on fire. I tried to jab Riptide into the Chimera's mouth, but the serpent tail wrapped around my ankles and pulled me off balance, and my blade flew out of my hand, spinning out of the hole in the Arch and down toward the Mississippi River.**

The whole room was tense and Percy was beginning to feel dizzy as he felt the poison yet again just as he had before

**I managed to get to my feet, but I knew I had lost. I was weaponless. I could feel deadly poison racing up to my chest.**

A slight hiss escaped Percy's lips as he slouched on the couch

"Percy!" Thalia cried out everyone turned from the book to see Percy pale and slouched against Thalia

"I'm fine just keep reading"

"It's the curse he feels everything we read about id forgotten about that" hazel stated looking at Percy in worry as he was forced to go through the pain again

Poseidon concentrated on the book not wanting to look at his son because he knew there was nothing he could do for him and he hated feeling powerless

** I remembered Chiron saying that Anaklusmos would always return to me, but there was no pen in my pocket. Maybe it had fallen too far away. Maybe it only returned when it was in pen form. I didn't know, and I wasn't going to live long enough to figure it out.**

Yes you will Percy Poseidon thought to himself you have to

**I backed into the hole in the wall. The Chimera advanced, growling, smoke curling from its lips. The snake lady, Echidna, cackled. "They don't make heroes like they used to, eh, son?"**

"Please Percy's ten times the hero then anyone I've ever heard of" Thalia stated

Jason rolled his eyes for a moment there he had felt bad about his earlier thought, but as Thalia's words echoed in his ears that feeling left him and like Hercules he rolled his eyes.

**The monster growled. It seemed in no hurry to finish me off now that I was beaten.**

**I glanced at the park ranger and the family. The little boy was hiding behind his father's legs. I had to protect these people. I couldn't just ... die.**

Artemis couldn't believe her ears; even though he thought he was going to die he was still more worried about the mortals then himself. She felt overwhelmed, for a moment he reminded her of Orion he had goodness in him that wasn't present in most men, perhaps he was different.

**I tried to think, but my whole body was on fire. My head felt dizzy. I had no sword. I was facing a massive, fire-breathing monster and its mother. And I was scared.**

"It takes unbelievable bravery to admit that one is scared Perseus so don't take that as a bad thing" Athena stated when she saw Percy look down with shame

**There was no place else to go, so I stepped to the edge of the hole. Far, far below, the river glittered.**

Poseidon sat up a bit straighter there was a river he sighed with relief he could save his son.

**If I died, would the monsters go away? Would they leave the humans alone?**

Artemis was again shocked at Percy's way of thinking.

**"If you are the son of Poseidon," Echidna hissed, "you would not fear water. Jump, Percy Jackson. Show me that water will not harm you. Jump and retrieve your sword. Prove your bloodline."**

"Yes jump" Poseidon said a little louder then he meant to and some of the gods snorted and Percy smiled at his father through his pain.

**Yeah, right, I thought. I'd read somewhere that jumping into water from a couple of stories up was like jumping onto solid asphalt. From here, I'd splatter on impact.**

"Have faith in me son I'll save you" Poseidon stated

**The Chimera's mouth glowed red, heating up for another blast.**

**"You have no faith," Echidna told me. "You do not trust the gods. I cannot blame you, little coward. Better you die now. The gods are faithless. The poison is in your heart."**

"Don't listen to her just jump" Poseidon whispered eyes focused on the book

**She was right: I was dying. I could feel my breath slowing down. Nobody could save me, not even the gods.**

Why? Why won't he just have faith and jump? Poseidon thought frantically

**I backed up and looked down at the water. I remembered the warm glow of my father's smile when I was a baby. He must have seen me. He must have visited me when I was in my cradle.**

Poseidon smiled knowing his future self-had he always did even if it was against the rules

**I remembered the swirling green trident that had appeared above my head the night of capture the flag, when Poseidon had claimed me as his son.**

"Yes have faith in me" Poseidon thought

**But this wasn't the sea. This was the Mississippi, dead center of the USA. There was no Sea God here.**

"I don't understand he knows I'm real so why doesn't he believe I will save him? Why would he rather die than have faith in me?" Poseidon asked Hestia softly

"Don't fret brother the boy is new to this he does not entirely understand give him time he will believe in you"

Poseidon sighed knowing Hestia was right and Percy was alive now so he must have jumped.

**"Die, faithless one," Echidna rasped, and the Chimera sent a column of flame toward my face.**

**"Father, help me," I prayed.**

"I will" Poseidon whispered back

**I turned and jumped. My clothes on fire, poison coursing through my veins, I plummeted toward the river.**

"Theseus I don't care if it's the end of the chapter keep reading Percy is still in pain it won't stop until you read about him being cured so please keep reading" Thalia said frantically he had moved letting Percy lay on the couch running her fingers through his hair as he took deep breathes. Theseus nodded and kept reading.

AN: THAT'S ALL FOLKS for this chapter. This was definitely one of my fav chapters to write and I hope everyone enjoys it please remember my competition I need your help!


	18. Chapter 18

AN: Alright competition over thank you all so much for your wonderful ideas, they really helped me a lot. I will now announce the winners; also a few of you had very similar ideas as these people but I'm going to go with the ones whose ideas I read first. Ok, and those who did have the same ideas or very similar I hope you very much enjoy what I do with these. There are 2 winners the first one is a guest. Your chapter will be put up very shortly if this was your idea I hope you enjoy it when the chapter comes. The next winner is Silver Demon Sword ya! Congratulations, I loved your idea. Thanks to everyone and all your amazing ideas I hope you enjoy these chapters once they come up. Anyway on to the story.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing at all

"**I Become a Known Fugitive**," Theseus continued to read

**I'd love to tell you I had some deep revelation on my way down, that I came to terms with my own mortality, laughed in the face of death, etcetera.**

"Death probably wouldn't like me anymore if I was to laugh in his face" Percy stated smiling trying to ignore the pain

"You've met Thantos" hades asked looking shocked

"Ya long story for later" Percy said

"Yup deaths not a bad guy" Nico agreed

"Ya I'm sure he is a great person, god… whatever but Percy's in pain here read please!" Thalia stated

**The truth? My only thought was: Aaaaggghhhhh!**

"That's more realistic"

Percy laughed "ya but it's not heroic or anything"

Artemis sighed the boy had potential but he didn't have to act like a hero to be one.

**The river raced toward me at the speed of a truck. Wind ripped the breath from my lungs. Steeples and skyscrapers and bridges tumbled in and out of my vision.**

Thalia froze up a bit thinking of high that must have been

**And then: ****_Flaaa-boooom!_**

"Flaaa-boom" Nico laughed everyone looked at him "what it's fun to say try it… say it"

"Flaaa-boom" hazel stated then giggled "he's right"

Thalia rolled her eyes, but Percy smiled slightly as he heard Thalia muter "flaaa-boom" under her breath and then smile

**A whiteout of bubbles. I sank through the murk, sure that I was about to end up embedded in a hundred feet of mud and lost forever.**

"Pessimistic much" Apollo stated Percy shrugged

**But my impact with the water hadn't hurt.**

"Of course not" Poseidon stated pouting a bit at how Percy still didn't fully believe that he would have saved him

**I was falling slowly now, bubbles trickling up through my fingers. I settled on the river bottom soundlessly. A catfish the size of my stepfather **

"Wow from his last description we heard it must be a huge ass catfish"

**lurched away into the gloom. Clouds of silt and disgusting garbage—beer bottles, old shoes, plastic bags—swirled up all around me.**

"Eeewww!" Aphrodite shuddered how awful

Poseidon grimaced he really needed to clean up that river

**At that point, I realized a few things: first, I had not been flattened into a pancake. I had not been barbecued. I couldn't even feel the Chimera poison boiling in my veins anymore. I was alive, which was good.**

Thalia looked at Percy and smiled he was slowly gaining back color and his grimace was gone he sighed as the pain left his body damn this curse is going to suck in the later books of his life.

**Second realization: I wasn't wet. I mean, I could feel the coolness of the water. I could see where the fire on my clothes had been quenched. But when I touched my own shirt, it felt perfectly dry.**

"That is so awesome"

Percy smiled "ya it's pretty great"

Hazel smiled the things Percy could do were amazing and she didn't know about half this stuff it was incredible.

**I looked at the garbage floating by and snatched an old cigarette lighter.**

"No way" hazel breathed out

**No way, I thought.**

Hazel blushed

**I flicked the lighter. It sparked. A tiny flame appeared, right there at the bottom of the Mississippi.**

"Leo would love that" Jason laughed

Percy smiled "ya I'm sure he would, I wonder if that would work with him"

"It would be a cool experiment" Jason said then stopped and looked away when he realized who he was talking to. Percy sighed well at least it was a start.

**I grabbed a soggy hamburger wrapper out of the current and immediately the paper turned dry.**

**I lit it with no problem. As soon as I let it go, the flames sputtered out. The wrapper turned back into a slimy rag. Weird.**

"Weird but cool" Nico stated

**But the strangest thought occurred to me only last: I was breathing. I was underwater, and I was breathing normally.**

"Of course the most obvious thought would occur to you last" Nico stated Percy simply smiled

**I stood up, thigh-deep in mud. My legs felt shaky. My hands trembled. I should've been dead. The fact that I wasn't seemed like ... well, a miracle. I imagined a woman's voice, a voice that sounded a bit like my mother: ****_Percy, what do you say?_**

Thalia laughed she didn't know why she found that line so funny but she did

**"Um ... thanks." Underwater, I sounded like I did on recordings, like a much older kid. "Thank you ... Father."**

"I love how you changed how you said that"

"What? I didn't want to sound ungrateful" Percy pouted

**No response. Just the dark drift of garbage downriver, the enormous catfish gliding by, the flash of sunset on the water's surface far above, turning everything the color of butterscotch.**

"Mmm a butterscotch river sounds yummy" Nico stated

"You know I'm not really a big fan of butterscotch" Thalia said

"I like butterscotch" Percy added "but only on ice cream"

"Are you guys seriously having this conversation" Theseus asked eyebrows raised at the three of them, they looked at each other and shrugged. Theseus rolled his eyes and continued reading.

**Why had Poseidon saved me?**

"Because you're my son and I care"

** The more I thought about it, the more ashamed I felt. So I'd gotten lucky a few times before. Against a thing like the Chimera, I had never stood a chance.**

Hercules smiled he knew the stupid hero wasn't that great

"Don't beat yourself up Perce after all your only 12 and you didn't exactly have the best training before you went on this quest" hazel stated

**Those poor people in the Arch were probably toast. I couldn't protect them. I was no hero. Maybe I should just stay down here with the catfish, join the bottom feeders.**

"Don't be stupid you did what you could just because you couldn't stop one monster doesn't mean you're not a hero" Artemis stated

Apollo and the others stared at her in shock "what it's true, a women would have been able to do much better, but for a boy this the best we can expect."

Percy sighed he supposed this was as much a compliment as he could ask for from Artemis.

**_Fump-fump-fump._** **A riverboat's paddlewheel churned above me, swirling the silt around.**

**There, not five feet in front of me, was my sword, its gleaming bronze hilt sticking up in the mud.**

"Well at least you still have your sword"

**I heard that woman's voice again: ****_Percy, take the sword. Your father believes in you. _****This time, I knew the voice wasn't in my head. I wasn't imagining it. Her words seemed to come from everywhere, rippling through the water like dolphin sonar.**

"Weird I wonder what it's like to hear like that under water" Nico questioned in curiosity

"See son I was listening and I sent a nymph"

**"Where are you?" I called aloud.**

**Then, through the gloom, I saw her—a woman the color of the water, a ghost in the current, floating just above the sword. She had long billowing hair, and her eyes, barely visible, were green like mine.**

**A lump formed in my throat. I said, "Mom?"**

Hestia smiled sadly that poor boy

Poseidon winced a bit making a mental note to send a different nymph

**_No, child, only a messenger, though your mother's fate is not as hope less as you believe. Go to the beach in Santa Monica._**

"A summons" Hera gasped then glared at Poseidon "no interfering"

"Relax sis I'm sure I won't interfere" Hera turned back and Poseidon continued under his breath "too much"

**"What?"**

**_It is your father's will. Before you descend into the Underworld, you must go to Santa Monica. Please, Percy, I cannot stay long. The river here is too foul for my presence._**

"You really should have those cleaned Poseidon"

"If I clean it too much the mortals will notice but I will try to do the best I can"

**"But ..." I was sure this woman was my mother, or a vision of her, anyway. "Who—how did you—"**

**There was so much I wanted to ask, the words jammed up in my throat.**

**_I cannot stay, brave one, _****the woman said. She reached out, and I felt the current brush my face like a caress. ****_You must go to Santa Monica! And, Percy, do not trust the gifts..._**

"Oh great an omen just what he needs" Poseidon groaned out

**Her voice faded.**

**"Gifts?" I asked. "What gifts? Wait!"**

**She made one more attempt to speak, but the sound was gone. Her image melted away. If it was my mother, I had lost her again.**

**I felt like drowning myself. The only problem: I was immune to drowning.**

Percy shuddered a bit remembering the sand. Sure he had mostly gotten over that, but there was still a small inkling of fear in the back of his mind. He suppressed it, how embarrassing if any of the others found out especially his father and half-brothers.

**_Your father believes in you, _****she had said.**

Poseidon smiled

**She'd also called me brave ... unless she was talking to the catfish.**

Thalia snorted "ya that's who she was talking to alright"

**I waded toward Riptide and grabbed it by the hilt. The Chimera might still be up there with its snaky, fat mother, waiting to finish me off. At the very least, the mortal police would be arriving, trying to figure out who had blown a hole in the Arch. If they found me, they'd have some questions.**

Percy grimaced what if he had been caught by the mortal police.

**I capped my sword, stuck the ballpoint pen in my pocket. "Thank you, Father," I said again to the dark water.**

**Then I kicked up through the muck and swam for the surface.**

**I came ashore next to a floating McDonald's.**

"Eewww! Those things are the worst" Demeter stated wrinkling her nose in digust

"Yeah and they make you fat" Aphrodite added

**A block away, every emergency vehicle in St. Louis was surrounding the Arch. Police helicopters circled overhead. The crowd of onlookers reminded me of Times Square on New Year's Eve.**

"How in the world did you get out of that one without getting caught" Thalia asked incredulously "it seems impossible"

**A little girl said, "Mama! That boy walked out of the river."**

**"That's nice, dear," her mother said, craning her neck to watch the ambulances.**

**"But he's dry!"**

**"That's nice, dear."**

"Mortals so naïve" Hermes stated fondly

**A news lady was talking for the camera: "Probably not a terrorist attack,** **we're told, but it's still very early in the investigation. The damage, as you can see, is very serious. We're trying to get to some of the survivors, to question them about eyewitness reports of someone falling from the Arch."**

"Survivors, see Percy you didn't screw up that much" Thalia stated nudging Percy who laughed

**_Survivors._** **I felt a surge of relief. Maybe the park ranger and that family made it out safely. I hoped Annabeth and Grover were okay.**

Hestia smiled the boy was still so worried about others it was cute

**I tried to push through the crowd to see what was going on inside the police line.**

"Seriously you were pushing through a crowd and still no one noticed you how is that possible" Nico asked in awe

**"... an adolescent boy," another reporter was saying. "Channel Five has learned that surveillance cameras show an adolescent boy going wild on the observation deck, somehow setting off this freak explosion. Hard to believe, John, but that's what we're hearing. Again, no confirmed fatalities …"**

"Yeah so the cameras completely miss the crazy lady and her chimera and all they see is Percy freaking out seriously that's just ridiculous bad luck" hazel states

"Yup and that's not even the worst of my bad luck" Percy replied with a sigh

**I backed away, trying to keep my head down. I had to go a long way around the police perimeter. Uniformed officers and news reporters were everywhere.**

"How you didn't get caught is a miracle"

"Probably had some forbidden outside help" Hera stated putting emphasis on forbidden as she glared around the room.

**I'd almost lost hope of ever finding Annabeth and Grover when a familiar voice bleated, "Perrr-cy!"**

**I turned and got tackled by Grover's bear hug—or goat hug.**

"Wow Percy the things that go through your mind" Thalia stated shaking her head

** He said, "We thought you'd gone to Hades the hard way!"**

"Hard way" Nico laughed "that's the easy way"

**Annabeth stood behind him, trying to look angry, but even she seemed relieved to see me.**

"Of course she is. Leave you alone for a minute and you cause mass chaos"

**"We can't leave you alone for five minutes! What happened?"**

"See she agrees"

**"I sort of fell."**

"Sort of fell really Percy" hazel stated staring at said teen who shrugged innocently in return

**"Percy! Six hundred and thirty feet?"**

Thalia let out a small eep that only Percy managed to hear

**Behind us, a cop shouted, "Gangway!" The crowd parted, and a couple of paramedics hustled out, rolling a woman on a stretcher. I recognized her immediately as the mother of the little boy who'd been on the observation deck. She was saying, "And then this huge dog, this huge fire-breathing Chihuahua—"**

"It's weird how she can see it but not see it"

"Well that's easily explained. See some mortals are born being able to fully see through the mist, while there are other mortals who can only see partway through the mist; a kind of in-between if you will. That's why the women can see something's and not others" Hermes replied

Percy felt it was odd Hermes being all smart like that but then he reasoned Hermes did have a lot to do with controlling the mist so it's obvious that he would know more

**"Okay, ma'am," the paramedic said. "Just calm down. Your family is fine. The medication is starting to kick in."**

**"I'm not crazy! This boy jumped out of the hole and the monster disappeared." Then she saw me. "There he is! That's the boy!"**

"Run Percy run for your life!" Nico cried out Percy reached over and hit him over the head and Nico stuck out his tongue at Percy and smiled

**I turned quickly and pulled Annabeth and Grover after me. We disappeared into the crowd.**

**"What's going on?" Annabeth demanded. "Was she talking about the Chihuahua on the elevator?"**

**I told them the whole story of the Chimera, Echidna, my high-dive act, and the underwater lady's message.**

"I'm sure it wasn't the whole thing" Thalia stated looking at Percy who shifted in his seat slightly

"Well I gave the mothered version of it"

"Mothered version?" Thalia questioned

"Watered down but still accurate, I call it that because it's what I tell my mother when she asks"

**"Whoa," said Grover. "We've got to get you to Santa Monica! You can't ignore a summons from your dad."**

"Well you could but it wouldn't be smart" Apollo stated

**Before Annabeth could respond, we passed another reporter doing a news break, and I almost froze in my tracks when he said, "Percy Jackson. That's right, Dan. Channel Twelve has learned that the boy who may have caused this explosion fits the description of a young man wanted by authorities for a serious New Jersey bus accident three days ago. ****_And _****the boy is believed to be traveling west. For our viewers at home, here is a photo of Percy Jackson."**

"Damn it you can't catch a break can you"

"Nico no cursing"

**We ducked around the news van and slipped into an alley.**

**"First things first," I told Grover. "We've got to get out of town!"**

**Somehow, we made it back to the Amtrak station with out getting spotted. We got on board the train just before it pulled out for Denver. The train trundled west as darkness fell, police lights still pulsing against the St. Louis skyline behind us.**

"I can't believe you made it to Los Angeles with that kind of publicity without getting caught by the police."

"End of the chapter who wants to read next" Theseus said holding up the book. Perseus took it from him.

AN: another chapter done wooo! And a belated Merry Christmas and an early Happy New Year to all, and for my belated Christmas present I want you all to click that little review button and leave me a comment thank you and good night!


	19. Chapter 19

AN: SORRY SORRY SORRY! Ok I'm super sorry to all my readers, I know it's been forever since I last updated. My excuse is I've been completely obsessed with Rise of the Guardians as of late and if you go to my page you'll see the 2 stories I'm currently working on for that. Anyway I love that movie it was amazing and I don't know if you've seen it or not but it's just awesome. So after I watched it I started writing for that and I became fixated on it so I put off updating. Anyway I felt so bad about it that I decided to give you three chapters' all at once. Three amazingly awesome chapters :) I hope this helps you forgive me and enjoy

AN: I own nada although Percy is on my top 5 list of fictional characters I'm in love with he's number 2

**"A God Buys us Cheeseburgers" **Perseus read out.

Hera glared at the gods "seriously does no one follow the rules"

Thalia licked her lips along with Percy "mmm cheeseburgers" they both said everyone ignored the two cheeseburger addicts.

**The next afternoon, June 14, seven days before the solstice, our train rolled into Denver. We hadn't eaten since the night before in the dining car, somewhere in Kansas. We hadn't taken a shower since Half-Blood Hill,** **and I was sure that was obvious.**

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose in disgust but thankfully she didn't squeal

**"Let's try to contact Chiron," Annabeth said. "I want to tell him about your talk with the river spirit."**

**"We can't use phones, right?"**

"Nope but I wish we could having a cell phone would sure come in handy" Nico stated the others nodded along except Percy

"I have a cell phone" he stated sheepishly

"What? Seriously," Nico asked

"Yup, I don't have it on me right now I think it's still in my cabin at camp half blood." He said "and before you flip out I don't use it often just to call my mom every now and then"

The others nodded it made sense

**"I'm not talking about phones**."

**We wandered through downtown for about half an hour, though I wasn't sure what Annabeth was looking for. The air was dry and hot, which felt weird after the humidity of St. Louis. Everywhere we turned, the Rocky Mountains seemed to be staring at me, like a tidal wave about to crash into the city.**

"Really Percy really" Thalia rolled her eyes in exasperation

Percy smiled "sorry habit"

**Finally we found an empty do-it-yourself car wash. We veered toward the stall farthest from the street, keeping our eyes open for patrol cars.**

"I borrowed a patrol car once" Percy mused too quietly for anyone to hear, remembering how fun it had been driving one of them, too bad it hadn't lasted long.

** We were three adolescents hanging out at a car wash without a car; any cop worth his doughnuts would figure we were up to no good.**

"That's a very stereotypical analogy" Athena said

"Ya but it's a fun one" Nico stated Athena shook her head as all the guys laughed.

**"What exactly are we doing?" I asked, as Grover took out the spray gun.**

**"It's seventy-five cents," he grumbled. "I've only got two quarters left. Annabeth?"**

**"Don't look at me," she said. "The dining car wiped me out."**

**I fished out my last bit of change and passed Grover a quarter, which left me two nickels and one drachma from Medusa's place.**

"That drachma could really come in handy later"

**"Excellent," Grover said. "We could do it with a spray bottle, of course, but the connection isn't as good, and my arm gets tired of pumping."**

**"What are you talking about?"**

"And as always Percy's completely clueless" Percy stuck out his tongue at Thalia who smirked back at him

**He fed in the quarters and set the knob to FINE MIST. "I-M'ing."**

**"Instant messaging?"**

"Iris-messaging" Athena corrected automatically

**"****_Iris_****-messaging," Annabeth corrected. "The rainbow goddess Iris carries messages for the gods. If you know how to ask, and she's not too busy, she'll do the same for half-bloods."**

"Iris is kind of weird" Percy stated

"You've met her?" Thalia questioned

"Ya, why is that weird?"

"Iris is a really rare goddess to meet"

"Well I can see why having met her"

"Did you insult her?"

"No I think she likes me"

"One of the few who do"

"Oh shut up"

**"You summon the goddess with a spray gun?"**

**Grover pointed the nozzle in the air and water hissed out in a thick white mist. "Unless you know an easier way to make a rainbow."**

"If Percy knew how to use his powers better back then he would have been able to do it easier"

"Yup cause I'm awesome"

"Good job Nico inflate his big head more" Thalia joked

Percy pouted at Thalia "I do not have a big head"

**Sure enough, late afternoon light filtered through the vapor and broke into colors.**

**Annabeth held her palm out to me. "Drachma, please."**

**I handed it over.**

"See I told you it would come in handy"

**She raised the coin over her head. "O goddess, accept our offering."**

"I like Fleecy's better" Percy said. Hazel nodded in agreement

"Fleecy" Thalia questioned.

"She's a cloud nymph who works for Iris"

"How do you summon her?"

"O Fleecy do me a solid" Percy said

The demigods all laughed "I like it" Thalia agreed

**She threw the drachma into the rainbow. It disappeared in a golden shimmer.**

**"Half-Blood Hill," Annabeth requested.**

**For a moment, nothing happened.**

**Then I was looking through the mist at strawberry fields, and the Long Island Sound in the distance. We seemed to be on the porch of the Big House. Standing with his back to us at the railing was a sandy-haired guy in shorts and an orange tank top. He was holding a bronze sword and seemed to be staring intently at something down in the meadow.**

"Annabeth should have been more specific" Thalia stated her mood dropped she really didn't want to hear about Luke.

**"Luke!" I called.**

**He turned, eyes wide. I could swear he was standing three feet in front of me through a screen of mist, except I could only see the part of him that appeared in the rainbow.**

"That's really cool" hazel stated she'd never seen an Iris message. Romans didn't use IM's. Jason couldn't help but agree he still wasn't used to it.

Thalia looked at hazel in confusion

"She's roman Thalia they don't have iris-messaging" Nico stated

"Oh weird"

**"Percy!" His scarred face broke into a grin. "Is that Annabeth, too? Thank the gods! Are you guys okay?"**

**"We're ... uh ... fine," Annabeth stammered. She was madly straightening her dirty T-shirt, trying to comb the loose hair out of her face.**

Aphrodite cooed. Percy looked slightly annoyed he knew Annabeth didn't like Luke like that in the end but it still irritated him when Annabeth got all nervous and shy in front of him.

**"We thought—Chiron—I mean—"**

**"He's down at the cabins." Luke's smile faded. "We're having some issues with the campers.** **Listen, is everything cool with you? Is Grover all right?"**

"Like he actually cares" Nico murmured under his breathe

**"I'm right here," Grover called. He held the nozzle out to one side and stepped into Luke's line of vision. "What kind of issues?"**

**Just then a big Lincoln Continental pulled into the car wash with its stereo turned to maximum hip-hop. As the car slid into the next stall, the bass from the subwoofers vibrated so much, it shook the pavement.**

"Ugh men" Artemis said disgusted

"How do you know it's a man sis" Apollo questioned

"Because it's something you would do" Apollo shrugged he couldn't argue with the truth "and don't call me sis Apollo" she said all of this calmly but there was an underlying threat to her voice that made Apollo shiver

**"Chiron had to—what's that noise?" Luke yelled.**

**"I'll take care of it.'" Annabeth yelled back, looking very relieved to have an excuse to get out of sight.**

"Aww how cute" Aphrodite gushed

**"Grover, come on!"**

**"What?" Grover said. "But—"**

**"Give Percy the nozzle and come on!" she ordered.**

**Grover muttered something about girls being harder to understand than the Oracle at Delphi,**

The guys all laughed while the girls all glared at said men who then tried to act innocent.

**then he handed me the spray gun and followed Annabeth.**

**I readjusted the hose so I could keep the rainbow going and still see Luke.**

"That was so hard to do while trying to keep the mist going"

**"Chiron had to break up a fight," Luke shouted to me over the music. "Things are pretty tense here, Percy. Word leaked out about the Zeus—Poseidon standoff.**

"Word leaked out" Thalia scoffed "more like you told people."

** We're still not sure how—probably the same scumbag who summoned the hellhound.**

"Ha ha" Nico laughed he smiled at Percy and Thalia and whispered "he called himself a scumbag" they both snorted and everyone stared at them they just shook their heads and motioned for Perseus to keep reading.

**Now the campers are starting to take sides. It's shaping up like the Trojan War all over again. Aphrodite, Ares, and Apollo are backing Poseidon, more or less.**

Zeus glared at mentioned immortals while Poseidon beamed

** Athena is backing Zeus."**

Zeus smiled at his daughter who nodded back

**I shuddered to think that Clarisse's cabin would ever be on my dad's side for anything.**

"Why I don't have any arguments against Poseidon" Ares said. Poseidon smirked.

"That won't last long" Percy mumbled under his breath

**In the next stall, I heard Annabeth and some guy arguing with each other, then the music's volume decreased drastically.**

"Wow wonder what she did" hazel questioned Percy just shrugged

**"So what's your status?" Luke asked me. "Chiron will be sorry he missed you."**

**I told him pretty much everything, including my dreams.**

**It felt so good to see him, to feel like I was back at camp even for a few minutes, that I didn't realize how long I had talked until the beeper went off on the spray machine, and I realized I only had one more minute before the water shut off.**

Poseidon smiled happy that his son had such a good friend to confide in

**"I wish I could be there," Luke told me. "We can't help much from here, I'm afraid, but listen ... it had to be Hades who took the master bolt. He was there at Olympus at the winter solstice. I was chaperoning a field trip and we saw him."**

Nico looked downright furious and hades looked offended

"Even if hades was there he couldn't steal the bolt gods can't take each other's magic item directly" Thalia stated

"Stupid…no good" Nico mumbled Percy put a hand on Nico shoulder and Nico took a deep breath and calmed down. He always got so mad when people blamed his father for everything it just wasn't fair.

**"But Chiron said the gods can't take each other's magic items directly."**

Thalia looked annoyed as Percy smirked "you think like me" Thalia didn't dignify that with a response which made Percy laugh

**"That's true," Luke said, looking troubled. "Still ... Hades has the helm of darkness. How could anybody else sneak into the throne room and steal the master bolt?** **You'd have to be invisible."**

"I'm sorry did he just insinuate what I thought he did"

"Jeez can you guys calm it down your being incredibly harsh to my son" Hermes stated having listened to all their comments

Thalia opened her mouth to say something but Percy covered it with his hand "Don't say anything stupid Thals."

Thalia got loose "that's rich coming from you" but she didn't say anything to Hermes and they went back to listening to Perseus read

**We were both silent, until Luke seemed to realize what he'd said.**

**"Oh, hey," he protested. "I didn't mean Annabeth. She and I have known each other forever. She would never ... I mean, she's like a little sister to me."**

**I wondered if Annabeth would like that description.**

"At that time probably not, but now ya I think she would" Thalia stated

**In the stall next to us, the music stopped completely. A man screamed in terror, car doors slammed, and the Lincoln peeled out of the car wash.**

"What the…" Jason said looking at the book in shock "ok now I'm curious"

"Me too what did she do to the poor mortal"

They turned to look at Percy who shrugged "I never asked"

**"You'd better go see what that was," Luke said. "Listen, are you wearing the flying shoes? I'll feel better if I know they've done you some good."**

Thalia growled under her breathe she had heard from Grover exactly how useful they had been in almost dragging him to Tartarus

**"Oh ... uh, yeah!" I tried not to sound like a guilty liar. "Yeah, they've come in handy."**

**"Really?" He grinned. "They fit and everything?"**

**The water shut off. The mist started to evaporate.**

**"Well, take care of yourself out there in Denver," Luke called, his voice getting fainter. "And tell Grover it'll be better this time! Nobody will get turned into a pine tree if he just—"**

"Really did he have to bring that up" Thalia asked looking annoyed

"Relax Thalia" Percy stated

"I don't get how you're not angry just reading about the guy"

"Because we had our differences, we fought, but in the end he did the right thing. Will I ever like him? No. Am I a bit mad? Yes, but I do respect him; besides this is in the past now."

Thalia sighed she knew Percy was right but it was so hard to forgive and forget

**But the mist was gone, and Luke's image faded to nothing. I was alone in a wet, empty car wash stall.**

**Annabeth and Grover came around the corner, laughing,**

"Ok seriously I'm going to have to ask Annabeth the next time I see her" Jason stated

Percy's smile faltered; the next time he saw her… would they even be seen again? Would they get out of Tartarus? Hell would they even be sane? All these thoughts seemed to swirl around his head. Annabeth, god he missed her; he just hoped what the fates had said was true that time had stopped and that Annabeth wasn't alone right now.

** but stopped when they saw my face. Annabeth's smile faded. "What happened, Percy? What did Luke say?"**

**"Not much," I lied, my stomach feeling as empty as a Big Three cabin.**

"Wow pretty damn empty then" Thalia stated

"Why lie" Hazel asked Percy

"They looked so carefree I didn't want to bring them down"

**"Come on, let's find some dinner."**

"How are you going to afford that?" Orion asked his little brother

"Sob story, we already looked half dead so I figured we might just have a chance"

**A few minutes later, we were sitting at a booth in a gleaming chrome diner.**

**All around us, families were eating burgers and drinking malts and sodas.**

**Finally the waitress came over. She raised her eyebrow skeptically. "Well?"**

**I said, "We, um, want to order dinner."**

**"You kids have money to pay for it?"**

**Grover's lower lip quivered. I was afraid he would start bleating, or worse, start eating the linoleum.**

"I don't get Grover's taste buds how can you eat linoleum it would taste awful"

"Ya I always think that when he eats stuff like poker chips or tin cans" Nico stated

**Annabeth looked ready to pass out from hunger.**

Athena looked a bit worried for her daughter and then she remembered the title and calmed

**I was trying to think up a sob story for the waitress when a rumble shook the whole building; a motorcycle the size of a baby elephant had pulled up to the curb.**

**All conversation in the diner stopped. The motorcycle's headlight glared red. Its gas tank had flames painted on it, and a shotgun holster riveted to either side, complete with shotguns. The seat was leather—but leather that looked like ... well, Caucasian human skin.**

Hephaestus rolled his eyes he would recognize that motorbike anywhere after all he's had to fix it more times than he can count.

Ares was smirking so he was the god that bought the little brats burgers hmm he wondered what he wanted

**The guy on the bike would've made pro wrestlers run for Mama. He was dressed in a red muscle shirt and black jeans and a black leather duster, with a hunting knife strapped to his thigh. He wore red wraparound shades, and he had the cruelest, most brutal face I'd ever seen— handsome, I guess, but wicked—with an oily black crew cut and cheeks that were scarred from many, many fights.**

Everyone turned and looked to Ares it was an apt description

"I wonder what you want from them" Athena said aloud

"What makes you think he wants something?" Hazel asked Athena politely.

"Ares never pays visits to demigods unless it's his own child and still it's rather rare, so he has to want something from them"

Hazel nodded and turned back to Perseus, who continued reading.

**The weird thing was, I felt like I'd seen his face somewhere before.**

**As he walked into the diner, a hot, dry wind blew through the place. All the people rose, as if they were hypnotized, but the biker waved his hand dismissively and they all sat down again. Everybody went back to their conversations. The waitress blinked, as if somebody had just pressed the rewind button on her brain. She asked us again, "You kids have money to pay for it?"**

"Weird" Nico stated trying to imagine the scene

**The biker said, "It's on me." He slid into our booth, which was way too small for him, and crowded Annabeth against the window.**

Athena glared slightly at Ares

**He looked up at the waitress, who was gaping at him, and said, "Are you still here?"**

**He pointed at her, and she stiffened. She turned as if she'd been spun around, then marched back toward the kitchen.**

"Ares you should be nicer to the mortals" Aphrodite stated

Ares ignored her and Aphrodite shook her head in exasperation

**The biker looked at me. I couldn't see his eyes behind the red shades, but bad feelings started boiling in my stomach. Anger, resentment, bitterness. I wanted to hit a wall. I wanted to pick a fight with somebody. Who did this guy think he was?**

Ares smirked he loved doing that to demigods he hoped he got a good reaction out of this one; normally they started out angry and then went into super polite mode once they found out who he was. He looked at Percy and smiled maybe this demigod was different.

**He gave me a wicked grin. "So you're old Seaweed's kid, huh?"**

Poseidon rolled his eyes he may have all the cool powers but he also got the most amount of nicknames it was rather irritating at times

**I should've been surprised, or scared, but instead I felt like I was looking at my stepdad, Gabe.**

Ares looked highly offended to be compared to such a pig yeah right he was ten thousand times better than that slob

**I wanted to rip this guy's head off. "What's it to you?"**

Poseidon groaned and both Orion and Theseus face palmed

Hazel just sighed some things never change she thought remembering Percy's reaction to mars

Jason looked shocked seriously this guy was so going to die; imagine if it had been mars he shuddered

Thalia and Nico were smiling

Ares had a slight grin on his face

**Annabeth's eyes flashed me a warning. "Percy, this is—"**

"And Annabeth to the rescue" Percy pouted but he didn't object Annabeth came to his rescue quite often when it came to these kind of situations

**The biker raised his hand.**

**"S'okay," he said. "I don't mind a little attitude. Long as you remember who's the boss. You know who I am, little cousin?"**

Aphrodite sighed she knew her lover so well. Ares loved when he got attitude when someone wasn't afraid to speak their mind it gave him a thrill especially cause most demigods were too scared to do anything.

**Then it struck me why this guy looked familiar. He had the same vicious sneer as some of the kids at Camp Half-Blood, the ones from cabin five.**

**"You're Clarisse's dad," I said.** **"Ares, god of War."**

"Clarisse's dad, hmm not normally introduced that way" Ares murmured but then shrugged hell what did he care as long as the shrimp didn't start groveling

**Ares grinned and took off his shades. Where his eyes should've been, there was only fire, empty sockets glowing with miniature nuclear explosions. "That's right, punk. I heard you broke Clarisse's spear."**

Ares glared at Percy for a moment but did nothing else it was his daughters fight not his

**"She was asking for it."**

Ares smirked good he was still being rather rude this would definitely be fun

**"Probably. That's cool. I don't fight my kids' fights, you know? What I'm here for—I heard you were in town. I got a little proposition for you."**

"See" Athena said "I knew you wouldn't come to see them for no reason"

**The waitress came back with heaping trays of food—cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings, and chocolate shakes.**

**Ares handed her a few gold drachmas.**

**She looked nervously at the coins. "But, these aren't..."**

**Ares pulled out his huge knife and started cleaning his fingernails. "Problem, sweetheart?"**

An arrow lodged itself near Ares head and he shrunk away from the furious Artemis who held her bow at the ready. After Artemis saw that Ares was thoroughly frightened she went back to her seat mumbling about men being vile pigs

**The waitress swallowed, then left with the gold.**

**"You can't do that," I told Ares. "You can't just threaten people with a knife."**

Artemis looked at Percy and her lips twitched in an almost smile Apollo did a double take but Artemis was straight faced again and so Apollo shook it off must have been imagining it he thought

**Ares laughed. "Are you kidding? I love this country. Best place since Sparta. Don't you carry a weapon, punk? You should. Dangerous world out there. Which brings me to my proposition. I need you to do me a favor."**

"What favor would you need a couple of demi gods to do for you I wonder" Hermes joked

Ares glared at him but Hermes shrugged it off he'd gotten far worse glares than those from Ares

**"What favor could I do for a god?"**

"See look Percy agrees with me" Hermes smiled at Percy who smiled back

**"Something a god doesn't have time to do himself. It's nothing much. I left my shield at an abandoned water park here in town. I was going on a little ... date with my girlfriend.**

Aphrodite smiled and giggled leaning her head on Ares shoulder it was cute in a weird way

**We were interrupted. I left my shield behind. I want you to fetch it for me."**

**"Why don't you go back and get it yourself?"**

"Only you Percy" Thalia said shaking her head

"I'm not the only one; you insulted a goddess"

"Ya the goddess of flowers that's not too big a deal"

"Ya well Annabeth insulted a goddess too and not a minor one"

"What when" Thalia asked

"You'll see" Percy smirked

"Whatever you still hold the record"

**The fire in his eye sockets glowed a little hotter.**

**"Why don't I turn you into a prairie dog and run you over with my Harley? Because I don't feel like it.**

"And because you're scared barnacle beard will kill you afterward" hades said a sly smile on his face

Poseidon rolled his eyes at the nickname

**A god is giving you an opportunity to prove yourself, Percy Jackson. Will you prove yourself a coward?" He leaned forward. "Or maybe you only fight when there's a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you."**

Percy couldn't help it his fists clenched at his sides gods he couldn't wait for the chapter where he kicked Ares butt

**I wanted to punch this guy, but somehow, I knew he was waiting for that. Ares's power was causing my anger. He'd love it if I attacked. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction.**

"Good don't be dumb" Athena stated nodding at Percy's thoughts

**"We're not interested," I said. "We've already got a quest."**

Athena sighed "I said don't be dumb young hero"

Percy shrugged "sorry already happened"

Ares however was grinning he kinda liked this punk he had guts that's for sure

**Ares's fiery eyes made me see things I didn't want to see—blood and smoke and corpses on the battlefield. "I know all about your quest, punk. When that ****_item _****was first stolen, Zeus sent his best out looking for it: Apollo, Athena, Artemis, and me, naturally. If I couldn't sniff out a weapon that powerful ..." He licked his lips, as if the very thought of the master bolt made him hungry.**

Zeus looked at Ares eyebrows raised

"What powerful weapons are my forte"

Hera rolled her eyes "he gets that from you" she said to Zeus

**"Well ... if I couldn't find it, you got no hope. Nevertheless, I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Your dad and I go way back. After all, I'm the one who told him my suspicions about old Corpse Breath."**

Nico felt like punching someone why was it everyone always blamed hades

Hades on the other hand shot a glare at Ares "really now"

"This hasn't happened yet and in my defense it does seem that way" Ares stated hands in the air as hades glared at him evilly

**"You told him Hades stole the bolt?"**

**"Sure. Framing somebody to start a war. Oldest trick in the book. I recognized it immediately.** **In a way, you got me to thank for your little quest."**

Poseidon glared at Ares along with hades

**"Thanks," I grumbled.**

**"Hey, I'm a generous guy. Just do my little job, and I'll help you on your way. I'll arrange a ride west for you and your friends."**

"Aww you're so sweet" Aphrodite cooed as she fixed her mascara in her handheld mirror

**"We're doing fine on our own."**

The demigods of the past looked at Percy in shock how could he say that to Ares did he want to get killed. In their time if a god asked for a favor you did it even if you didn't like the god.

**"Yeah, right. No money. No wheels. No clue what you're up against. Help me out, and maybe I'll tell you something you need to know. Something about your mom."**

"That'll get him" Thalia stated

"That's low nephew" Hestia chastised Ares had enough respect for Hestia to look abashed

**"My mom?"**

**He grinned. "That got your attention. The water park is a mile west on Delancy. You can't miss it. Look for the Tunnel of Love ride."**

Aphrodite squealed and clapped her hands it sounded like her kind of place

**"What interrupted your date?" I asked. "Something scare you off?"**

"Do you want to die little brother?" Theseus asked in disbelief he didn't receive an answer

**Ares bared his teeth, but I'd seen his threatening look before on Clarisse. There was something false about it, almost like he was nervous.**

"Ha yeah right what do I have to be nervous about"

**"You're lucky you met me, punk, and not one of the other Olympians. They're not as forgiving of rudeness as I am.**

"I don't know about that I'm plenty rude and I'm still alive" Percy joked

"Ya we know it's a miracle" Thalia said

The others looked at Percy in shock who else was he rude to. It couldn't be any one big otherwise he would definitely be dead.

**I'll meet you back here when you're done. Don't disappoint me."**

**After that I must have fainted, or fallen into a trance, because when I opened my eyes again, Ares was gone. I might've thought the conversation had been a dream, but Annabeth and Grover's expressions told me otherwise.**

**"Not good," Grover said. "Ares sought you out, Percy. This is not good."**

"Yup not good and incredibly annoying" Percy said

**I stared out the window. The motorcycle had disappeared.**

**Did Ares really know something about my mom, or was he just playing with me? Now that he was gone, all the anger had drained out of me. I realized Ares must love to mess with people's emotions. That was his power—cranking up the passions so badly, they clouded your ability to think.**

Ares smirked

**"It's probably some kind of trick," I said. "Forget Ares. Let's just go."**

"No! Are you crazy?" Orion stated looking at Percy incredulously

"Chill we didn't, even though I really wanted to"

"Let me guess Annabeth made you"

"Pretty much"

The other gods were staring at Percy as well; he would really ignore a god they hadn't met a hero like him in their lifetimes and that's saying something

**"We can't," Annabeth said. "Look, I hate Ares as much as anybody, but you don't ignore the gods unless you want serious bad fortune. **

"Already have that" Percy grumbled

**He wasn't kidding about turning you into a rodent."**

**I looked down at my cheeseburger, which suddenly didn't seem so appetizing. "Why does he need us?"**

**"Maybe it's a problem that requires brains,"** **Annabeth said. "Ares has strength. That's all he has. Even strength has to bow to wisdom sometimes."**

Athena smirked and Ares scowled

**"But this water park ... he acted almost scared. What would make a war god run away like that?"**

"I was not scared and I didn't run away" Ares growled

"How do you know it hasn't happened to you yet" Percy said smirking Ares glared at him

**Annabeth and Grover glanced nervously at each other.**

**Annabeth said, "I'm afraid we'll have to find out."**

"Great" Athena sighed and Poseidon followed suit hoping it wasn't anything to dangerous

**The sun was sinking behind the mountains by the time we found the water park. Judging from the sign, it once had been called WATERLAND, but now some of the letters were smashed out, so it read WAT R A D.**

Nico laughed "watrad" he said before turning back to the story. Thalia made the motion for crazy and pointed at Nico when he wasn't paying attention Percy laughed

**The main gate was padlocked and topped with barbed wire. Inside, huge dry waterslides and tubes and pipes curled everywhere, leading to empty pools. Old tickets and advertisements fluttered around the asphalt. With night coming on, the place looked sad and creepy.**

**"If Ares brings his girlfriend here for a date," I said, staring up at the barbed wire, "I'd hate to see what she looks like."**

"Excuse me" Aphrodite looked offended

"Sorry I honestly didn't know it was you"

**"Percy," Annabeth warned. "Be more respectful."**

"Ya like that'll happen" Thalia stated

**"Why? I thought you hated Ares."**

**"He's still a god. And his girlfriend is very temperamental."**

"I am not temperamental. (queue snorts from Thalia and Artemis) Am I sweetie?"

"Nope you're gorgeous"

"Aww" Aphrodite blushed and smiled

**"You don't want to insult her looks," Grover added.**

**"Who is she? Echidna?"**

"As if" Aphrodite glared at Percy

"Again didn't know"

"Still that was just rude" Aphrodite sniffed

"I'm sorry" Percy apologized really not wanting the goddess to cry

**"No, Aphrodite," Grover said, a little dreamily. "Goddess of love."**

**"I thought she was married to somebody," I said. "Hephaestus."**

Aphrodite looked down and Hera glared at her "you should be ashamed; having an affair"

"I don't love him Hera, he's… nice and… creative but I don't love him and I'm the goddess of love. I want to be with someone I love" Aphrodite stated glaring at Hera who looked shocked her eyes softening she looked to Hephaestus

"And what about you"

"She's a beauty but it's the same for me"

"See Hera if you'd let us get divorced then I could find a sweet someone for him and I could be with the one I love"

"Ares you mean" Hera questioned Aphrodite nodded and Hera sighed "well talk later" Aphrodite giggled and she looked really happy

**"What's your point?" he asked.**

**"Oh." I suddenly felt the need to change the subject. "So how do we get in?"**

**_"Maia!"_**

"Maia" Hermes said again as his shoes reacted

**Grover's shoes sprouted wings.**

**He flew over the fence, did an unintended somersault in midair, then stumbled to a landing on the opposite side. He dusted off his jeans, as if he'd planned the whole thing. "You guys coming?"**

"He made it sound like we could sprout wings and fly over too" Percy grumbled

**Annabeth and I had to climb the old-fashioned way, holding down the barbed wire for each other as we crawled over the top.**

**The shadows grew long as we walked through the park, checking out the attractions. There was Ankle Biter Island, Head Over Wedgie, and Dude, Where's My Swimsuit?**

Apollo and Hermes laughed at the ridiculous names and Artemis rolled her eyes

**No monsters came to get us. Nothing made the slightest noise.**

**We found a souvenir shop that had been left open. Merchandise still lined the shelves: snow globes, pencils, postcards, and racks of—**

**"Clothes," Annabeth said. "Fresh clothes."**

**"Yeah," I said. "But you can't just—"**

**"Watch me."**

"The Stoll brothers would be so proud"

"The who" Hazel asked

"The Stoll brothers are twin sons of Hermes. The Stoll's are the biggest thieves and tricksters at camp so be warned if you meet them in the future"

"Noted and appreciated" Hazel said

**She snatched an entire row of stuff of the racks and disappeared into the changing room. A few minutes later she came out in Waterland flower-print shorts, a big red Waterland T-shirt, and commemorative Waterland surf shoes. A Waterland backpack was slung over her shoulder, obviously stuffed with more goodies.**

**"What the heck." Grover shrugged. Soon, all three of us were decked out like walking advertisements for the defunct theme park.**

"I wonder what people thought after you got out of the theme park"

**We continued searching for the Tunnel of Love.**

**I got the feeling that the whole park was holding its breath. "So Ares and Aphrodite," I said, to keep my mind off the growing dark, "they have a thing going?"**

"Wow Percy that is really old news"

Percy shrugged "how the heck was I supposed to know I didn't exactly study mythology… in fact I still don't"

**"That's old gossip, Percy," Annabeth told me. "Three-thousand-year-old gossip."**

**"What about Aphrodite's husband?"**

**"Well, you know," she said. "Hephaestus. The black smith. He was crippled when he was a baby, thrown off Mount Olympus by Zeus.**

"Why does everybody assume it was me" Zeus scowled

Hera bit her lip as people looked in her direction "I said I was sorry"

"Your apology was our arranged marriage" Aphrodite huffed "so it wasn't a very good one"

"Fine can I re apologize by letting you divorce and let him find someone then will you both be happy"

Said god/goddess nodded. Normally they would have separated without Hera's permission but she could be spiteful and had dropped a lot of threats and so Aphrodite had just decided to cheat.

And Hephaestus he wanted to find someone who understood him and his machines

**So he isn't exactly handsome. Clever with his hands, and all, but Aphrodite isn't into brains and talent, you know?"**

**"She likes bikers."**

Ares smiled and pulled Aphrodite closer

**"Whatever."**

**"Hephaestus knows?"**

**"Oh sure," Annabeth said. "He caught them together once. I mean, literally caught them, in a golden net, and invited all the gods to come and laugh at them. **

Aphrodite pouted

And Hephaestus laughed it wasn't like he minded that Aphrodite cheated on him it was just to fun trying to catch her using his mechanics it gave him a bit of a challenge and it definitely made the other gods laugh

**Hephaestus is always trying to embarrass them. That's why they meet in out-of-the-way places, like ..."**

**She stopped, looking straight ahead. "Like that."**

**In front of us was an empty pool that would've been awesome for skateboarding.**

"You can skateboard"

"Yup" Percy stated proudly

"Cool" said Nico "you should teach me"

"Sure"

** It was at least fifty yards across and shaped like a bowl.**

**Around the rim, a dozen bronze statues of Cupid** **stood guard with wings spread and bows ready to fire. On the opposite side from us, a tunnel opened up, probably where the water flowed into when the pool was full. The sign above it read, THRILL RIDE O' LOVE: THIS IS NOT YOUR PARENTS' TUNNEL OF LOVE!**

Aphrodite squealed it sounded quite charming

**Grover crept toward the edge. "Guys, look."**

**Marooned at the bottom of the pool was a pink-and-white two-seater boat with a canopy over the top and little hearts painted all over it.**

"Aww that's so sweet"

Ares blushed and a few gods laughed

** In the left seat, glinting in the fading light, was Ares's shield, a polished circle of bronze.**

**"This is too easy," **

"Way to easy it has to be a trap"

**I said. "So we just walk down there and get it?"**

**Annabeth ran her fingers along the base of the nearest Cupid statue.**

**"There's a Greek letter carved here," she said. "Eta. I wonder ..."**

Hephaestus smiled and Aphrodite pouted "not fair you ruined our date"

**"Grover," I said, "you smell any monsters?"**

**He sniffed the wind. "Nothing."**

**"Nothing—like, in-the-Arch-and-you-didn't-smell-Echidna nothing, or really nothing?"**

"Percy" Thalia wacked him upside the head

"Alright I admit that was mean"

**Grover looked hurt. "I told you, that was underground."**

**"Okay, I'm sorry." I took a deep breath. "I'm going down there."**

"See I apologized"

"Still"

"I get it I get it"

**"I'll go with you." Grover** **didn't sound too enthusiastic, but I got the feeling he was trying to make up for what had happened in St. Louis.**

Hestia smiled how sweet it just showed what good friends they were

**"No," I told him. "I want you to stay up top with the flying shoes. You're the Red Baron, a flying ace, remember? I'll be counting on you for backup, in case something goes wrong."**

"Good always have a backup plan"

**Grover puffed up his chest a little. "Sure. But what could go wrong?"**

"Jinxed it" Nico said

**"I don't know. Just a feeling. Annabeth, come with me—"**

"Aww how cute this is just the best" Aphrodite cooed

**"Are you kidding?" She looked at me as if I'd just dropped from the moon. Her cheeks were bright red.**

Aphrodite giggled happily

**"What's the problem now?" I demanded.**

**"Me, go with you to the ... the 'Thrill Ride of Love'? How embarrassing is that? What if somebody saw me?"**

"Who's going to see you" Nico asked

**"Who's going to see you?"**

"Oh no now I'm thinking like Percy no!" Nico yelled out until both Thalia and Percy punched him lightly

** But my face was burning now, too. Leave it to a girl to make everything complicated.**

"Leave it to men to mess everything up" Artemis stated

"I agree with Percy" Apollo stated

**"Fine," I told her. "I'll do it myself." But when I started down the side of the pool, she followed me, muttering about how boys always messed things up.**

Artemis smiled and Aphrodite glared at her, "No you're not allowed to have Annabeth"

**We reached the boat. The shield was propped on one seat, and next to it was a lady's silk scarf. I tried to imagine Ares and Aphrodite here, a couple of gods meeting in a junked-out amusement-park ride. Why? Then I noticed something I hadn't seen from up top: mirrors all the way around the rim of the pool, facing this spot. We could see ourselves no matter which direction we looked. That must be it. While Ares and Aphrodite were smooching with each other they could look at their favorite people: themselves.**

Neither Ares nor Aphrodite said anything after all it was partly true

**I picked up the scarf. It shimmered pink, and the perfume was indescribable—rose, or mountain laurel. Something good. I smiled, a little dreamy, and was about to rub the scarf against my cheek when Annabeth ripped it out of my hand and stuffed it in her pocket. "Oh, no you don't. Stay away from that love magic."**

"Aww come on Annabeth that could have been fun"

**"What?"**

**"Just get the shield, Seaweed Brain, and let's get out of here."**

"Don't be rash" Athena stated knowing it couldn't possibly be that easy

**The moment I touched the shield, I knew we were in trouble. My hand broke through something that had been connecting it to the dashboard. A cobweb,** **I thought, but then I looked at a strand of it on my palm and saw it was some kind of metal filament, so fine it was almost invisible. A trip wire.**

Poseidon cursed

**"Wait," Annabeth said.**

**"Too late."**

**"There's another Greek letter on the side of the boat, another Eta. This is a trap."**

"Two seconds too late" Nico said

**Noise erupted all around us, of a million gears grinding, as if the whole pool were turning into one giant machine.**

Hephaestus sat forward in anticipation what had he created to trap him this time

**Grover yelled, "Guys!"**

**Up on the rim, the Cupid statues were drawing their bows into firing position. Before I could suggest taking cover, they shot, but not at us. They fired at each other, across the rim of the pool. Silky cables trailed from the arrows, arcing over the pool and anchoring where they landed to form a huge golden asterisk. Then smaller metallic threads started weaving together magically between the main strands, making a net.**

"Great just great" Poseidon muttered

"Come on uncle P it's only a trap made to humiliate Ares and Aphrodite it can't be that bad" Hermes stated Poseidon calmed a bit

**"We have to get out," I said.**

"Duh" Nico said Percy laughed

**"Duh!" Annabeth said.**

"Cool I think like Annabeth that's way better than thinking like Percy"

"Hey'

"Sorry Perce"

"Whatever"

**I grabbed the shield and we ran, but going up the slope of the pool was not as easy as going down.**

**"Come on!" Grover shouted.**

**He was trying to hold open a section of the net for us, but wherever he touched it, the golden threads started to wrap around his hands.**

"Not good" Thalia stated

**The Cupids' heads popped open. Out came video cameras. Spotlights rose up all around the pool, blinding us with illumination, and a loudspeaker voice boomed: "Live to Olympus in one minute ... Fifty-nine seconds, fifty-eight ..."**

"So not good and so embarrassing"

**"Hephaestus!" Annabeth screamed. "I'm so stupid.'**

**Eta is H.' He made this trap to catch his wife with Ares. Now we're going to be broadcast live to Olympus and look like absolute fools!"**

"I wish I could see Olympus when this broadcasted" Thalia laughed

**We'd almost made it to the rim when the row of mirrors opened like hatches and thousands of tiny metallic ... things poured out.**

**Annabeth screamed.**

"Somehow I can't imagine Annabeth freaking out" Jason said thinking of the Annabeth he knew

**It was an army of wind-up creepy-crawlies: bronze-gear bodies, spindly legs, little pincer mouths, all scuttling toward us in a wave of clacking, whirring metal.**

Athena shuddered "spiders" she stated in disgust no wonder her daughter had freaked

**"Spiders!" Annabeth said. "Sp—sp—aaaah!"**

**I'd never seen her like this before. She fell backward in terror and almost got overwhelmed by the spider robots before I pulled her up and dragged her back toward the boat.**

Athena shot a grateful smile at Percy who nodded back

"Damn of all the things it had to be spiders what a coincidence"

**The things were coming out from all around the rim now, millions of them, flooding toward the center of the pool, completely surrounding us.**

**I told myself they probably weren't programmed to kill, just corral us and bite us and make us look stupid. Then again, this was a trap meant for gods. And we weren't gods.**

Poseidon's calm state left him when he thought of this. Great now Percy was going to be injured by giant robotic spiders just wonderful.

**Annabeth and I climbed into the boat.**

**I started kicking away the spiders as they swarmed aboard. I yelled at Annabeth to help me, but she was too paralyzed to do much more than scream.**

Jason was shocked he knew the children of Athena hated spiders but he never realized it was this bad

**"Thirty, twenty-nine," called the loudspeaker.**

**The spiders started spitting out strands of metal thread, trying to tie us down. The strands were easy enough to break at first, but there were so many of them, and the spiders just kept coming. I kicked one away from Annabeth's leg and its pincers took a chunk out of my new surf shoe.**

Athena breathed out a sigh of relief better shoes then her daughters flesh

**Grover hovered above the pool in his flying sneakers, trying to pull the net loose, but it wouldn't budge.**

**Think, I told myself. Think.**

"It's like Pooh Bear think think think" Thalia laughed.

"Wow I never pegged you as a Winnie the Pooh fan"

"Oh shut up it was a comforting show when I was little" Thalia glared at Nico daring him to make fun of her "besides I'm sure you all had a stupid cartoon you watched"

"Yup Tom and Jerry came out when I was a kid. I loved that show" Nico stated unembarrassed he had a lot of good memories he'd recently remembered about him and Bianca watching that show.

"I liked steamboat Willie" hazel said smiling

"I didn't watch TV, so I didn't really watch anything" Jason stated

"Not anything you remember. Trust me Jason loved power rangers, all I had to do was turn it on and you were a happy kid" Thalia stated Jason blushed

"I was more of a ninja turtle fan myself" Percy said smiling "I liked Michelangelo he was awesome"

All the kids laughed Jason kept away he didn't really have much to remember but he laughed or blushed when Thalia brought up something he had done as a kid.

"I hate to interrupt but can we keep reading"

The kids quieted down and Perseus continued

**The Tunnel of Love entrance was under the net. We could use it as an exit, except that it was blocked by a million robot spiders.**

**"Fifteen, fourteen," the loudspeaker called.**

**Water, I thought. Where does the ride's water come from?**

Athena looked slightly impressed the plan had merit

**Then I saw them: huge water pipes behind the mirrors, where the spiders had come from. And up above the net, next to one of the Cupids, a glass-windowed booth that must be the controller's station.**

**"Grover!" I yelled. "Get into that booth! Find the 'on' switch!"**

**"But—"**

**"Do it!" It was a crazy hope, but it was our only chance. The spiders were all over the prow of the boat now. Annabeth was screaming her head off. I had to get us out of there.**

"I'm sure Annabeth would thank you" Thalia said laughing

**Grover was in the controller's booth now, slamming away at the buttons.**

**"Five, four—"**

**Grover looked up at me hopelessly, raising his hands. He was letting me know that he'd pushed every button, but still nothing was happening.**

"Great now what"

"Percy uses his aqua man powers"

"You know I always thought aqua man sucked" Percy stated

"Ya me too he was pretty lame all he could do was talk to fish and breathe under water if they showed him with your powers he could have actually been cool"

"I'm going to take that as an offhand compliment" Percy said

**I closed my eyes and thought about waves, rushing water, the Mississippi River. I felt a familiar tug in my gut. I tried to imagine that I was dragging the ocean all the way to Denver.**

"That'll never work" Hazel stated

**"Two, one, ****_zero_****!"**

"Too late"

**Water exploded out of the pipes.**

"Never mind" Hazel amended

**It roared into the pool, sweeping away the spiders. I pulled Annabeth into the seat next to me and fastened her seat belt just as the tidal wave slammed into our boat, over the top, whisking the spiders away and dousing us completely, but not capsizing us. The boat turned, lifted in the flood, and spun in circles around the whirlpool.**

**The water was full of short-circuiting spiders, some of them smashing against the pool's concrete wall with such force they burst.**

Hephaestus frowned all that work gone he sighed then shrugged it was still probably an entertaining show

**Spotlights glared down at us. The Cupid-cams were rolling, live to Olympus.**

"I'm going to have to make sure I'm there when this happens; priceless" Apollo said smiling

**But I could only concentrate on controlling the boat. I willed it to ride the current, to keep away from the wall. Maybe it was my imagination, but the boat seemed to respond.**

"Nope you'll be able to control sea vessels"

"Ya that definitely comes in handy" Theseus stated

"No joke I use it in the next book I believe"

**At least, it didn't break into a million pieces. We spun around one last time, the water level now almost high enough to shred us against the metal net. Then the boat's nose turned toward the tunnel and we rocketed through into the darkness.**

"Aww you're in the tunnel of love ride how cute"

**Annabeth and I held tight,** **both of us screaming as the boat shot curls and hugged corners and took forty-five-degree plunges past pictures of Romeo and Juliet and a bunch of other Valentine's Day stuff.**

Aphrodite was giggling through that whole description and Percy's cheeks were a bright red

**Then we were out of the tunnel, the night air whistling through our hair as the boat barreled straight toward the exit.**

**If the ride had been in working order, we would've sailed off a ramp between the golden Gates of Love and splashed down safely in the exit pool. But there was a problem. The Gates of Love were chained. Two boats that had been washed out of the tunnel before us were now piled against the barricade—one submerged, the other cracked in half.**

Athena tensed and Poseidon took a deep breathe

**"Unfasten your seat belt," I yelled to Annabeth.**

**"Are you crazy?"**

**"Unless you want to get smashed to death." I strapped Ares' shield to my arm. "We're going to have to jump for it." My idea was simple and insane. **

Thalia breathed a sigh of relief "its ok were good it's one of the insane ideas"

Percy stuck out his tongue at her

**As the boat struck, we would use its force like a springboard to jump the gate. I'd heard of people surviving car crashes that way, getting thrown thirty or forty feet away from an accident. With luck, we would land in the pool.**

"Luck and Annabeth you'll be fine" Nico stated

**Annabeth seemed to understand. She gripped my hand as the gates got closer.**

Aphrodite squealed uncaring that they might be smashed into pieces after all that was a minor detail what was important was that they were holding hands

**"On my mark," I said.**

No Thalia stated

**"No! On my mark!"**

Thalia sighed in relief

**"What?"**

**"Simple physics!" she yelled. "Force times the trajectory angle—"**

**"Fine.'" I shouted. "On ****_your _****mark!"**

Percy laughed "yup you were right luck and Annabeth was all I needed"

This line had Aphrodite in a frenzy it was so cute

**She hesitated ... hesitated ... then yelled, "Now!"**

**_Crack!_**

**Annabeth was right.**

"Of course she was she's my daughter"

Poseidon rolled his eyes

**If we'd jumped when I thought we should've, we would've crashed into the gates. She got us maximum lift.**

"Thank god for Annabeth"

"Ya I have to say that a lot in my life" Percy smiled

**Unfortunately, that was a little more than we needed. Our boat smashed into the pileup and we were thrown into the air, straight over the gates, over the pool, and down toward solid asphalt.**

"And there's Percy's awful luck" Nico said

"Oh shut up" Percy pouted (poor Percy he pouts a lot in this)

**Something grabbed me from behind.**

**Annabeth yelled, "Ouch!"**

Athena winced hoping her daughter wasn't to hurt

**Grover!**

"Go g man" Percy said smiling

**In midair, he had grabbed me by the shirt, and Annabeth by the arm, and was trying to pull us out of a crash landing, but Annabeth and I had all the momentum.**

**"You're too heavy!" Grover said. "We're going down!"**

**We spiraled toward the ground, Grover doing his best to slow the fall.**

**We smashed into a photo-board, Grover's head going straight into the hole where tourists would put their faces, pretending to be Noo-Noo the Friendly Whale. Annabeth and I tumbled to the ground, banged up but alive. Ares's shield was still on my arm.**

"Well at least you're alive"

"No at least you still have my shield" Ares said doing his best to ignore both Poseidon and Athena's glare

**Once we caught our breath, Annabeth and I got Grover out of the photo-board and thanked him for saving our lives. I looked back at the Thrill Ride of Love. The water was subsiding. Our boat had been smashed to pieces against the gates.**

"At least it wasn't you"

**A hundred yards away, at the entrance pool, the Cupids were still filming.**

**The statues had swiveled so that their cameras were trained straight on us, the spotlights in our faces.**

**"Show's over!" I yelled. "Thank you! Good night!"**

Thalia and Nico burst into laughter, Hazel smiled shaking her head and Jason looked at Percy incredulously. Perseus chuckled he'd love to see the gods faces when they watched this. Hercules rolled his eyes Orion and Theseus looked a bit exasperated but they couldn't help the small smiles on their faces.

The gods ranged from laughter to offended.

**The Cupids turned back to their original positions. The lights shut off. The park went quiet and dark again, except for the gentle trickle of water into the Thrill Ride of Love's exit pool. I wondered if Olympus had gone to a commercial break, or if our ratings had been any good.**

"That's what you think about" Hazel asked

"Are you surprised" Percy answered

"I'm beginning to not be no"

**I hated being teased.** **I hated being tricked. And I had plenty of experience handling bullies who liked to do that stuff to me. I hefted the shield on my arm and turned to my friends. "We need to have a little talk with Ares."**

"Please don't say or do anything dumb" Poseidon begged

"Sorry dad; already happened, but relax I'm still alive and this isn't even the worst of it"

"That didn't help Perseus"

"Sorry dad"

"That's the end of the chapter who's next. Hercules your volunteering great you read" Perseus said forcing the book on the hero who looked annoyed.

AN: on to the next chapter… just keep reading just keep reading just keep reading reading reading, what do we do we review review review. Come on you have to review now especially after that amazing little jingle…please


	20. Chapter 20

AN: alright I hope you enjoyed that last chapter, but this update isn't over yet here's another chapter ya! I hope you have all forgiven me by now and if not after this is another chapter and to help you out I wrote all these chapters in the span of 4 days. Normally I do one chapter a week so I worked really hard on these chappies. So please enjoy it and please review

AN: still not owning anything

**"We Take a Zebra to Vegas" **Hercules read his tone one of boredom and irritation that he was forced to read about this stupid hero

"Nice form of transportation Ares" Hermes laughed

**The war god was waiting for us in the diner parking lot.**

**"Well, well," he said. "You didn't get yourself killed."**

**"You knew it was a trap," I said.**

"Here comes Percy ready to piss off Ares for round two of will he kill me or will he not" Nico said in announcer sounding voice

**Ares gave me a wicked grin. "Bet that crippled black smith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You looked good on TV."**

**I shoved his shield at him. "You're a jerk."**

The demi gods of the past gasped except for Hercules

Poseidon groaned Athena face palmed Ares just smirked this kid could definitely be fun to mess with

Thalia shook her head at Percy who shrugged

Hazel was shocked but then she remembered the way he had spoken to mars the way they had traded insults like old frenemies maybe it developed out of this besides he obviously didn't kill Percy

Jason had to wonder more than once how the hero had managed to stay alive if this was how he treated the gods, and then he rolled his eyes probably just lived cause his dad Poseidon nothing special and he went back to paying attention to the book

**Annabeth and Grover caught their breath.**

**Ares grabbed the shield and spun it in the air like pizza dough. It changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest. He slung it across his back.**

"Cool" Nico said going into mythomagic mode for a second Percy smiled it was nice seeing Nico acting like a kid again maybe this whole reading the book thing would help him a bit

**"See that truck over there?" He pointed to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the diner. "That's your ride. Take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas."**

"Ya our stop at Vegas lasted a bit longer than we thought it would" Percy said under his breath. Nico looked confused then he remembered Percy telling him about how he got trapped in the lotus casino that was in Vegas on his first quest. Nico looked back at the book in excitement he always wondered how they'd managed to get out without outside help.

**The eighteen-wheeler had a sign on the back, which I could read only because it was reverse-printed white on black, a good combination for dyslexia: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.**

Percy scoffed "humane my a…"

"Percy don't you dare curse"

"You'll be cursing too once you hear about it" he muttered

**I said, "You're kidding."**

**Ares snapped his fingers. The back door of the truck unlatched. "Free ride west, punk. Stop complaining. And here's a little something for doing the job."**

**He slung a blue nylon backpack off his handlebars and tossed it to me.**

"A ride and a gift how generous" Athena stated warily wondering what Ares could be up to

**Inside were fresh clothes for all of us, twenty bucks in cash, a pouch full of golden drachmas, and a bag of Double Stuff Oreos.**

"Aww your so generous sweetie" Aphrodite cooed kissing Ares

"Whoa innocent children in the room" Percy stated covering Nico's eyes Aphrodite blushed and turned toward the book everyone else sighed in relief they really didn't need to see Ares and Aphrodite making out.

**I said, "I don't want your lousy—"**

**"Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover interrupted, giving me his best red-alert warning look. "Thanks a lot."**

"Geez Percy if Grover and Annabeth hadn't been there Ares would have killed you" Thalia stated

**I gritted my teeth. It was probably a deadly insult to refuse something from a god,**

Percy rolled his eyes as he remembered what Hera had told him about Zeus being sore for the same reason; man gods were sensitive

** but I didn't want anything that Ares had touched. Reluctantly, I slung the backpack over my shoulder. I knew my anger was being caused by the war god's presence, but I was still itching to punch him in the nose.**

"Please don't" Poseidon said looking to Percy

"Don't worry I don't ever punch him in the nose" Percy said with complete honesty

** He reminded me of every bully I'd ever faced: Nancy Bobofit, Clarisse, Smelly Gabe, sarcastic teachers—every jerk who'd called me stupid in school or laughed at me when I'd gotten expelled.**

**I looked back at the diner, which had only a couple of customers now. The waitress who'd served us dinner was watching nervously out the window, like she was afraid Ares might hurt us. She dragged the fry cook out from the kitchen to see. She said something to him. He nodded, held up a little disposable camera and snapped a picture of us.**

"Crap you better get out of there Percy they probably recognized you from the news" Thalia grimaced

**Great, I thought. We'll make the papers again tomorrow.**

**I imagined the headline: TWELVE-YEAR-OLD OUTLAW BEATS UP DEFENSELESS BIKER.**

"With your luck it's entirely possible" Nico said

**"You owe me one more thing," I told Ares, trying to keep my voice level. "You promised me information about my mother."**

**"You sure you can handle the news?" He kick started his motorcycle. "She's not dead."**

**The ground seemed to spin beneath me. "What do you mean?"**

Percy smiled, thank the gods she wasn't dead he didn't know what he would do if she actually died

**"I mean she was taken away from the Minotaur before she could die. She was turned into a shower of gold, right? That's metamorphosis. Not death. She's being kept."**

**"Kept. Why?"**

**"You need to study war, punk. Hostages. You take somebody to control somebody else."**

"Plenty of people have tried controlling me it doesn't really work out so well for them" Percy smirked

**"Nobody's controlling me."**

"Really? Nobody"

"I take that back my mom definitely controls me, she is super scary when she's mad and I do whatever she says… for the most part"

**He laughed. "Oh yeah? See you around, kid."**

**I balled up my fists. "You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues."**

"Percy" Poseidon groaned

"I'm sorry I couldn't help it"

Ares growled but he had to admit he much preferred this to groveling it was more entertaining.

**Behind his sunglasses, fire glowed. I felt a hot wind in my hair. "We'll meet again, Percy Jackson. Next time you're in a fight, watch your back."**

"Nice going now Ares is your enemy"

"Actually he doesn't officially become my enemy till later" Percy stated Thalia looked at him confused and Percy looked shocked he'd always assumed someone had told her about his quests, but now that they were reading about them it was funny all the stuff she didn't know.

**He revved his Harley, then roared off down Delancy Street.**

**Annabeth said, "That was not smart, Percy."**

"It's Percy what do you expect"

"Hey"

**"I don't care."**

**"You don't want a god as your enemy.**

"Ya he really didn't listen to that piece of advice"

"You know I'm right here Thals"

"Don't care kelp head"

** Especially not that god."**

**"Hey, guys," Grover said. "I hate to interrupt, but ..."**

**He pointed toward the diner. At the register, the last two customers were paying their check, two men in identical black coveralls, with a white logo on their backs that matched the one on the KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL truck.**

**"If we're taking the zoo express," Grover said, "we need to hurry."**

**I didn't like it, but we had no better option. Besides, I'd seen enough of Denver.**

Well at least there's not much damage that can happen in the back of a truck both Poseidon and Athena thought to themselves

**We ran across the street and climbed in the back of the big rig, closing the doors behind us.**

**The first thing that hit me was the smell. It was like the world's biggest pan of kitty litter.**

"Eeewww" Aphrodite squealed momentarily deafening the occupants of the room "that is so gross and you're riding all the way to Vegas in that. Ares couldn't you have found them a better ride?"

"This hasn't happened yet"

"Well when it does keep that in mind"

**The trailer was dark inside until I uncapped Anaklusmos. The blade cast a faint bronze light over a very sad scene. Sitting in a row of filthy metal cages were three of the most pathetic zoo animals I'd ever beheld: a zebra, a male albino lion, and some weird antelope thing I didn't know the name for.**

"Why is that sad" Hermes asked

**Someone had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, which he obviously didn't want to eat. The zebra and the antelope had each gotten a Styrofoam tray of hamburger meat. The zebra's mane was matted with chewing gum, like somebody had been spitting on it in their spare time. The antelope had a stupid silver birthday balloon tied to one of his horns that read OVER THE HILL!**

Artemis looked more and more upset as Hercules read "why those no…"she was so angry she couldn't even speak and she wasn't the only one Hestia too looked incredibly angry at the poor treatment.

**Apparently, nobody had wanted to get close enough to the lion to mess with him, but the poor thing was pacing around on soiled blankets, in a space way too small for him, panting from the stuffy heat of the trailer. He had flies buzzing around his pink eyes and his ribs showed through his white fur.**

"That poor creature" Hestia said sadly nothing deserved to be treated so cruelly

**"This is kindness?" Grover yelled. "Humane zoo transport?"**

**He probably would've gone right back outside to beat up the truckers with his reed pipes,**

"Ya go Grover kick their butts" Nico cheered

**and I would've helped him, but just then the trucks engine roared to life, the trailer started shaking, and we were forced to sit down or fall down.**

"Damn"

"Nico" Thalia chastised then turned to Percy "see what you cause"

"What, me?!"

"Yes because you curse so much"

"Speak for yourself"

Hercules kept reading forcing their argument to an end for the time being

**We huddled in the corner on some mildewed feed sacks, trying to ignore the smell and the heat and the flies. Grover talked to the animals in a series of goat bleats, but they just stared at him sadly. Annabeth was in favor of breaking the cages and freeing them on the spot, but I pointed out it wouldn't do much good until the truck stopped moving. Besides, I had a feeling we might look a lot better to the lion than those turnips.**

"Probably a good idea" Athena reasoned

**I found a water jug and refilled their bowls, then used Anaklusmos to drag the mismatched food out of their cages. I gave the meat to the lion and the turnips to the zebra and the antelope.**

"Well at least you did something to make them a bit more comfortable" Artemis sighed

**Grover calmed the antelope down, while Annabeth used her knife to cut the balloon off his horn. She wanted to cut the gum out of the zebra's mane, too, but we decided that would be too risky with the truck bumping around. We told Grover to promise the animals we'd help them more in the morning, then we settled in for night.**

"Good get them out of that truck; humane transport what a load" Artemis bit out angrily

**Grover curled up on a turnip sack; Annabeth opened our bag of Double Stuffed Oreos and nibbled on one halfheartedly; I tried to cheer myself up by concentrating on the fact that we were halfway to Los Angeles. Halfway to our destination. It was only June fourteenth. The solstice wasn't until the twenty-first. We could make it in plenty of time.**

"Jinxed it" Nico said

**On the other hand, I had no idea what to expect next. The gods kept toying with me. **

"Some of the gods had the decency to look a bit ashamed"

**At least Hephaestus had the decency to be honest about it—he'd put up cameras and advertised me as entertainment.**

Hephaestus smiled a bit

** But even when the cameras weren't rolling, I had a feeling my quest was being watched. I was a source of amusement for the gods.**

Again some gods looked a bit uncomfortable

**"Hey," Annabeth said, "I'm sorry for freaking out back at the water park, Percy."**

**"That's okay."**

**"It's just..." She shuddered. "Spiders."**

**"Because of the Arachne story," I guessed. "She got turned into a spider for challenging your mom to a weaving contest, right?"**

"Wow Percy actually knows something it's the end of the world"

"Shut it" Percy smiled though and elbowed Thalia good naturedly

**Annabeth nodded. "Arachne's children have been taking revenge on the children of Athena ever since. If there's a spider within a mile of me, it'll find me. I hate the creepy little things. Anyway, I owe you."**

"Ugh I hate spiders as it is" Hazel said "I can't imagine them actually seeking you out I'd be terrified"

**"We're a team, remember?" I said. "Besides, Grover did the fancy flying."**

**I thought he was asleep, but he mumbled from the corner, "I was pretty amazing, wasn't I?"**

The demigods from the future laughed except hazel although she smiled Grover sounded nice and a lot more useful than the fauns at her camp

**Annabeth and I laughed.**

**She pulled apart an Oreo, handed me half. "In the Iris message ... did Luke really say nothing?"**

**I munched my cookie and thought about how to answer. The conversation via rainbow had bothered me all evening. "Luke said you and he go way back. He also said Grover wouldn't fail this time. Nobody would turn into a pine tree."**

Thalia winced "really could you stop bringing that up"

**In the dim bronze light of the sword blade, it was hard to read their expressions.**

**Grover let out a mournful bray.**

**"I should've told you the truth from the beginning." His voice trembled. "I thought if you knew what a failure I was, you wouldn't want me along."**

"He didn't fail" Thalia stated "it was my choice I wanted Annabeth and Luke and Grover to live; my choice, not his failure"

"He knows that now"

"I know but it's still hard to hear about how much it affected him"

**"You were the satyr who tried to rescue Thalia, the daughter of Zeus."**

**He nodded glumly.**

**"And the other two half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp ..." I looked at Annabeth. "That was you and Luke, wasn't it?"**

"Wow you guys traveled all that way to camp you must have been attacked a lot by monsters with Thalia as part of the group" Hazel said looking saddened it must have been difficult

"It was but it also made us stronger and I wouldn't change it, not for the world"

**She put down her Oreo, uneaten. "Like you said, Percy, a seven-year-old half-blood wouldn't have made it very far alone. Athena guided me toward help. Thalia was twelve. Luke was fourteen. They'd both run away from home, like me. They were happy to take me with them. They were ... amazing monster-fighters, even without training. We traveled north from Virginia without any real plans, fending off monsters for about two weeks before Grover found us."**

Athena smiled happy she had guided her daughter to 2 amazing half-bloods without them she'dprobably be dead

**"I was supposed to escort Thalia to camp," he said, sniffling. "Only Thalia. I had strict orders from Chiron: don't do anything that would slow down the rescue. We knew Hades was after her, see, but I couldn't just leave Luke and Annabeth by themselves.**

"And I wouldn't have wanted you to leave them there alone I would have refused if you tried Grover so don't beat yourself up so much"

"Thalia you're talking to a book"

"Shut it Nics"

**I thought ... I thought I could lead all three of them to safety. It was my fault the Kindly Ones caught up with us. I froze. I got scared on the way back to camp and took some wrong turns. If I'd just been a little quicker …"**

Thalia shook her head they had all been scared and nervous honestly she wished above all else that she could have made Grover realize this sooner but this was the past she reminded herself and nothing she could do would change that although maybe the gods could just maybe if this worked out the way the fates wanted it too

**"Stop it," Annabeth said. "No one blames you. Thalia didn't blame you either."**

"Thanks Annabeth" Thalia whispered

**"She sacrificed herself to save us," he said miserably, "Her death was my fault. The Council of Cloven Elders said so."**

"The council are a bunch of idiots" Thalia Nico and Percy said together

**"Because you wouldn't leave two other half-bloods behind?" I said. "That's not fair."**

**"Percy's right," Annabeth said. "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you, Grover. Neither would Luke. We don't care what the council says."**

"Please no one cares what the council says except for the council"

**Grover kept sniffling in the dark. "It's just my luck. I'm the lamest satyr ever, and I find the two most powerful half-bloods of the century, Thalia and Percy."**

"And just wait you find 2 more while you're at it" Nico said happily

"Who's the fourth I only remember Bianca" Percy teased ruffling Nico's hair. Nico just stuck out his tongue.

**"You're not lame," Annabeth insisted. "You've got more courage than any satyr I've ever met. Name one other who would dare go to the Underworld. I bet Percy is really glad you're here right now."**

**She kicked me in the shin.**

"I really didn't need that kick"

"She has the right idea men say stupid things" Artemis said

Hestia sighed Artemis would see eventually that not all men are the same

**"Yeah," I said, which I would've done even without the kick.**

**"It's not luck that you found Thalia and me, Grover. You've got the biggest heart of any satyr ever. You're a natural searcher. That's why you'll be the one who finds Pan."**

**I heard a deep, satisfied sigh. I waited for Grover to say something, but his breathing only got heavier. When the sound turned to snoring, I realized he'd fallen sleep.**

"You made him happy Percy whether he fell asleep or not I'm sure he was happy that you were his friend"

"What do you mean were? I still am his friend always will be"

**"How does he do that?" I marveled.**

**"I don't know," Annabeth said. "But that was really a nice thing you told him."**

**"I meant it."**

Hestia smiled

**We rode in silence for a few miles, bumping around on the feed sacks. The zebra munched a turnip. The lion licked the last of the hamburger meat off his lips and looked at me hopefully.**

**Annabeth rubbed her necklace like she was thinking deep, strategic thoughts.**

"I love how you notice all the smaller details but miss out on everything else" Thalia laughed

**"That pine-tree bead," I said. "Is that from your first year?"**

**She looked. She hadn't realized what she was doing.**

**"Yeah," she said. "Every August, the counselors pick the most important event of the summer, and they paint it on that year's beads. I've got Thalia's pine tree, a Greek trireme on fire, a centaur in a prom dress—now ****_that _****was a weird summer..."**

"I'm sorry what?" Hazel, Nico, and Jason both asked simultaneously

Percy and Thalia laughed "neither of us have been able to squeeze the whole story out of anyone but from the pieces we got from people were pretty entertaining" Percy said

**"And the college ring is your father's?"**

**"That's none of your—" She stopped herself. "Yeah. Yeah, it is."**

**"You don't have to tell me."**

"That's the funny thing about you Percy everyone seems to want to tell you everything" Nico said

"What do you mean" Perseus asked

"Well people trust Percy with their secrets even if they've only just met him it's like you want to tell him for some reason" Nico tried to explain

"Ya" Thalia added "I told Percy about my mom he was the only one I ever told I'm not sure why but I didn't mind sharing with him"

"I told him something too" hazel added "and it was the same thing I just felt like I could trust him" Percy was blushing

"A lot of people tell Percy their secrets" Nico stated

Hestia gazed at the boy a blush clear on his face not only did he have to deal with his own life but with all the troubles and secrets that others confided in him with. It must be hard and yet here he is just as happy and cheerful as ever he was definitely something special.

**"No ... it's okay." She took a shaky breath. "My dad sent it to me folded up in a letter, two summers ago. The ring was, like, his main keepsake from Athena. He wouldn't have gotten through his doctoral program at Harvard without her... That's a long story. Anyway, he said he wanted me to have it. He apologized for being a jerk, said he loved me and missed me. He wanted me to come home and live with him."**

Athena smiled he seemed like a nice man full of the love of knowledge.

**"That doesn't sound so bad."**

**"Yeah, well... the problem was, I believed him. I tried to go home for that school year, but my stepmom was the same as ever. She didn't want her kids put in danger by living with a freak. Monsters attacked. We argued. Monsters attacked. We argued. I didn't even make it through winter break. I called Chiron and came right back to Camp Half-Blood."**

**"You think you'll ever try living with your dad again?"**

Athena hoped so; she didn't want her daughter to suffer so much she should be able to enjoy the comforts of home and family.

**She wouldn't meet my eyes. "Please. I'm not into self-inflicted pain."**

**"You shouldn't give up," I told her. "You should write him a letter or something."**

Athena smiled at Percy sending him a silent thank you Percy nodded back

**"Thanks for the advice," she said coldly, "but my father's made his choice about who he wants to live with."**

**We passed another few miles of silence.**

**"So if the gods fight," I said, "will things line up the way they did with the Trojan War? Will it be Athena versus Poseidon?"**

"Of course didn't the boy Luke already say that my cabin aligned itself with Zeus" Athena stated

**She put her head against the backpack Ares had given us, and closed her eyes. "I don't know what my mom will do. I just know I'll fight next to you."**

Athena looked shocked

Aphrodite cooed the last few page had been so cutesy she hoped it never ended

**"Why?"**

**"Because you're my friend, Seaweed Brain. Any more stupid questions?"**

"It's good to have friends like that" Hermes said Apollo and Hermes smirked at each other honestly you'd think they were the twins instead

**I couldn't think of an answer for that. Fortunately I didn't have to. Annabeth was asleep.**

"Geez Perce you sure know how to put people to sleep first Grover now Annabeth"

**I had trouble following her example, with Grover snoring and an albino lion staring hungrily at me, but eventually I closed my eyes.**

"And demigod dream" Nico motioned

"Yeah how did you know?"

"It's you. You always have demi god dreams"

**My nightmare started out as something I'd dreamed a million times before: I was being forced to take a standardized test while wearing a straitjacket.**

"You've had this dream before" Athena asked eyebrows raised

**All the other kids were going out to recess, and the teacher kept saying, ****_Come on, Percy. You're not stupid, are you? Pick up your pencil._**

**Then the dream strayed from the usual.**

"How does it usually go?"

"I'm alone in the room and I can never get to the dang pencil"

"Wow that's a crap dream"

"Nico"

"Come on Thalia all I said was crap" Nico said Thalia punched him in the arm "Ow ok ok"

**I looked over at the next desk and saw a girl sitting there, also wearing a straitjacket. She was my age, with unruly black, punk-style hair, dark eyeliner around her stormy green eyes, and freckles across her nose. Somehow, I knew who she was. She was Thalia, daughter of Zeus.**

"That's really creepy Percy you didn't even know what I looked like then and the only thing you got wrong was my eyes their blue not green"

"Ya I don't really remember this dream so umm this is really weird"

**She struggled against the straitjacket, glared at me in frustration,** **and snapped, ****_Well, Seaweed Brain? One of us has to get out of here._**

"Yup that's Thalia" Nico stated

**She's right, my dream-self thought. I'm going back to that cavern. I'm going to give Hades a piece of my mind.**

"Of course I'm right" Thalia said

Meanwhile Athena was looking at Percy with interest she's heard about demigods who could control where they wanted to go in their dreams could this boy have that ability.

**The straitjacket melted off me. I fell through the class room floor. The teacher's voice changed until it was cold and evil, echoing from the depths of a great chasm.**

Athena looked at Percy she knew it he was one of them and he probably had no idea.

**_Percy Jackson, _****it said. ****_Yes, the exchange went well, I see._**

**I was back in the dark cavern, spirits of the dead drifting around me. Unseen in the pit, the monstrous thing was speaking, but this time it wasn't addressing me. The numbing power of its voice seemed directed somewhere else.**

The gods leaned forward father was talking to the traitor maybe they'd be able to tell who it was

**_And he suspects nothing? _****it asked.**

**Another voice, one I almost recognized, answered at my shoulder. ****_Nothing, he is as ignorant as the rest._**

**I looked over, but no one was there. The speaker was invisible.**

The gods looked frustrated at that

**_Deception upon deception, _****the thing in the pit mused aloud. ****_Excellent._**

**_Truly, my lord, _****said the voice next to me, ****_you are well-named the Crooked One._**

Zeus had to admit now that it was definitely his father and so he knew they would have to talk about this but that would come later

**_But was it really necessary? I could have brought you what I stole directly_**—

**_You?_** **the monster said in scorn. ****_You have already shown your limits. You would have failed me completely had I not intervened._**

**_But, my lord_**—

**_Peace, little servant. Our six months have bought us much. Zeus's anger has grown. Poseidon has played his most desperate card. _**

Both Zeus and Poseidon looked at each other and sighed great they were being used. Poseidon felt anger at that thought then looked to his son and the other demigods was this how it felt. He sighed he hadn't wanted to use Percy in the future he was sure; even now he hated using his children but sometimes that was the only way to get something done without breaking the ancient laws.

**_Now we shall use it against him._**

Poseidon clenched his fists in anger he better not hurt Percy

Orion and Theseus were both angered at this as well they now fully accepted Percy as their little brother

**_ Shortly you shall have the reward you wish, and your revenge. As soon as both items are delivered into my hands ... but wait. He is here._**

**_What? _****The invisible servant suddenly sounded tense. ****_You summoned him, my lord?_**

**_No. _****The full force of the monsters attention was now pouring over me, freezing me in place. ****_Blast his father's blood_**—**_he is too changeable, too unpredictable._**

Poseidon smiled ha take that he thought

**_ The boy brought himself hither._**

Just as shed thought Athena confirmed her theory

**_Impossible !_****the servant cried.**

**_For a weakling such as you, perhaps, _****the voice snarled. Then it's cold power turned back on me. ****_So ... you wish to dream of your quest, young half-blood? Then I will oblige._**

**The scene changed.**

"Great this should be fun"

**I was standing in a vast throne room with black marble walls and bronze floors. The empty, horrid throne was made from human bones fused together. Standing at the foot of the dais was my mother, frozen in shimmering golden light, her arms outstretched.**

Hestia Hera and Poseidon all glared at the book

**I tried to step toward her, but my legs wouldn't move. I reached for her, only to realize that my hands were withering to bones. Grinning skeletons in Greek armor crowded around me, draping me with silk robes, wreathing my head with laurels that smoked with Chimera poison, burning into my scalp.**

**The evil voice began to laugh. ****_Hail, the conquering hero!_**

Poseidon clenched his fists trying not to over react this has already happened he thought to himselftrying to calm down

**I woke with a start.**

**Grover was shaking my shoulder. "The truck's stopped," he said. "We think they're coming to check on the animals."**

**"Hide!" Annabeth hissed.**

**She had it easy. She just put on her magic cap and disappeared.**

"I wish I had one of those" Nico stated

"I'm glad you don't you already scare the crap out of me by appearing out of shadows you don't need anything else" Thalia said

"Agreed" Percy and Hazel added

Jason wanted to agree as well but he was too stubborn to agree with Jackson the guy still irritated him

**Grover and I had to dive behind feed sacks and hope we looked like turnips.**

**The trailer doors creaked open. Sunlight and heat poured in.**

**"Man!" one of the truckers said, waving his hand in front of his ugly nose. "I wish I hauled appliances." He climbed inside and poured some water from a jug into the animals' dishes.**

**"You hot, big boy?" he asked the lion, then splashed the rest of the bucket right in the lion's face.** **The lion roared in indignation.**

Artemis clenched her fists

Percy would hate to be those guys when this was over

**"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the man said.**

**Next to me, under the turnip sacks, Grover tensed. For a peace-loving herbivore, he looked downright murderous.**

**The trucker threw the antelope a squashed-looking Happy Meal bag. He smirked at the zebra. "How ya doin', Stripes? Least we'll be getting rid of ****_you _****this stop. You like magic shows? You're gonna love this one. They're gonna saw you in half!"**

Artemis looked like the murderous one now instead of Grover

**The zebra, wild-eyed with fear, looked straight at me.**

**There was no sound, but as clear as day, I heard it say: ****_Free me, lord. Please._**

"You can talk to zebras too" Hazel asked in awe Percy nodded and hazel smiled "that's so cool I've got to take you to the zoo with me"

**I was too stunned to react.**

"You have to wonder why it waited so long to talk to you" Nico said

"Most likely he was shy" Poseidon stated

"Shy?" Nico questioned disbelievingly

"Yes shy; most horses think very highly of me and my children so he was probably just nervous when it came to talking to my son"

"Oh"

**There was a loud ****_knock, knock, knock _****on the side of the trailer.**

"Annabeth to the rescue" Thalia stated

"How do you know?"

"I know Annabeth"

**The trucker inside with us yelled, "What do you want, Eddie?"**

**A voice outside—it must've been Eddie's—shouted back, "Maurice? What'd ya say?"**

"See" Thalia said smugly

**"What are you banging for?"**

**_Knock, knock, knock._**

**Outside, Eddie yelled, "What banging?"**

**Our guy Maurice rolled his eyes and went back outside, cursing at Eddie for being an idiot.**

"Like Maurice can talk he's just as much an idiot as the other guy" Hermes said

**A second later, Annabeth appeared next to me. She must've done the banging to get Maurice out of the trailer. She said, "This transport business can't be legal."**

**"No kidding," Grover said. He paused, as if listening. "The lion says these guys are animal smugglers!"**

"We need to bring Grover to the zoo with us" Hazel said between him and Percy it would be so fun

**_That's right, _****the zebra's voice said in my mind.**

**"We've got to free them!" Grover said. He and Annabeth both looked at me, waiting for my lead.**

"And everyone looks to Percy"

"I don't know why they always call my plans crazy"

"Crazy but reliable" Thalia said

**I'd heard the zebra talk, but not the lion. Why? Maybe it was another learning disability ... I could only understand zebras? Then I thought: horses. What had Annabeth said about Poseidon creating horses? Was a zebra close enough to a horse? Was that why I could understand it?**

"See Percy you can think"

"Thanks Thals"

"Anytime little bro" Jason rolled his eyes

**The zebra said, ****_Open my cage, lord. Please. I'll be fine after that._**

**Outside, Eddie and Maurice were still yelling at each other, but I knew they'd be coming inside to torment the animals again any minute. I grabbed Riptide and slashed the lock off the zebra's cage.**

**The zebra burst out. It turned to me and bowed. ****_Thank you, lord._**

**Grover held up his hands and said something to the zebra in goat talk, like a blessing.**

Artemis nodded she seemed much calmer now those smugglers would get what's coming for them

**Just as Maurice was poking his head back inside to check out the noise, the zebra leaped over him and into the street. There was yelling and screaming and cars honking. We rushed to the doors of the trailer in time to see the zebra galloping down a wide boulevard lined with hotels and casinos and neon signs. We'd just released a zebra in Las Vegas.**

"I wonder what happened to them" Percy wondered aloud he hoped they were happy and well fed wherever they were

**Maurice and Eddie ran after it, with a few policemen running after them, shouting, "Hey! You need a permit for that!"**

**"Now would be a good time to leave," Annabeth said.**

"Wait you have to release the other animals" Hazel said

**"The other animals first," Grover said.**

**I cut the locks with my sword. Grover raised his hands and spoke the same goat-blessing he'd used for the zebra.**

**"Good luck," I told the animals. The antelope and the lion burst out of their cages and went off together into the streets.**

**Some tourists screamed. Most just backed off and took pictures, probably thinking it was some kind of stunt by one of the casinos.**

"Tourists" grumbled Dionysus it was the only sign that he was actually listening

**"Will the animals be okay?" I asked Grover. "I mean, the desert and all—"**

**"Don't worry," he said. "I placed a satyr's sanctuary on them."**

**"Meaning?"**

**"Meaning they'll reach the wild safely," he said. "They'll find water, food, shade, whatever they need until they find a safe place to live."**

"Don't you wish a blessing like that could work on us too" Thalia said wistfully

**"Why can't you place a blessing like that on us?" I asked.**

"Ok I know Annabeth said we were alike but this is just weird" Percy stated

"Tell me about it"

**"It only works on wild animals."**

"So Percy" Nico laughed

Percy held up his hands "wait for it"

**"So it would only affect Percy," Annabeth reasoned.**

Nico laughed harder and so did hazel and Thalia even Jason let out a snort before trying to look impassive

**"Hey!" I protested.**

"No protest now" Nico asked

"What's the point" Percy said

**"Kidding," she said. "Come on. Let's get out of this filthy truck."**

**We stumbled out into the desert afternoon. It was a hundred and ten degrees, easy, and we must've looked like deep-fried vagrants, but everybody was too interested in the wild animals to pay us much attention.**

"What's a vagrant?" Nico questioned

"A person who roams from place to place without a home mostly unemployed" Athena spouted

**We passed the Monte Carlo and the MGM. We passed pyramids, a pirate ship, and the Statue of Liberty, which was a pretty small replica, but still made me homesick.**

**I wasn't sure what we were looking for. Maybe just a place to get out of the heat for a few minutes, find a sandwich and a glass of lemonade, make a new plan for getting west.**

**We must have taken a wrong turn, because we found ourselves at a dead end, standing in front of the Lotus Hotel and Casino.**

The gods looked at the heroes in shock how had they made it out of there

Hera glared around at all the gods they couldn't have made it out on their own someone had to be helping them

**The entrance was a huge neon flower, the petals lighting up and blinking. No one was going in or out, but the glittering chrome doors were open, spilling out air-conditioning that smelled like flowers—lotus blossom, maybe. I'd never smelled one, so I wasn't sure.**

**The doorman smiled at us. "Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?"**

"That just screams trap"

**I'd learned to be suspicious, the last week or so. I figured anybody might be a monster or a god. You just couldn't tell. But this guy was normal. One look at him, and I could see. Besides, I was so relieved to hear somebody who sounded sympathetic that I nodded and said we'd love to come in.**

"And still you fall for it."

**Inside, we took one look around, and Grover said, "Whoa."**

**The whole lobby was a giant game room. And I'm not talking about cheesy old Pac-Man games or slot machines. There was an indoor waterslide snaking around the glass elevator, which went straight up at least forty floors. There was a climbing wall on the side of one building, and an indoor bungee-jumping bridge. There were virtual-reality suits with working laser guns. And hundreds of video games, each one the size of a widescreen TV. Basically, you name it, this place had it****_. _****There were a few other kids playing, but not that many. No waiting for any of the games. There were waitresses and snack bars all around, serving every kind of food you can imagine.**

"That sounds awesome" Thalia said

"It's actually a pretty cool place you know besides being trapped there for all eternity and never knowing it" Percy said

"Ya that's definitely a major drawback" Nico said

"What do you mean trapped there" Thalia asked she'd only heard of the place once and that was when Percy and Bianca had been talking about it on their quest?

**"Hey!" a bellhop said. At least I guessed he was a bellhop. He wore a white-and-yellow Hawaiian shirt with lotus designs, shorts, and flip-flops. "Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key."**

**I stammered, "Um, but..."**

**"No, no," he said, laughing. "The bill's taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go on up to the top floor, room 4001. If you need anything, like extra bubbles for the hot tub, or skeet targets for the shooting range, or whatever, just call the front desk. Here are your LotusCash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides."**

"Ok I need to go there for a month, and then one of you can come pull me out ok, I need to see this"

**He handed us each a green plastic credit card.**

**I knew there must be some mistake. Obviously he thought we were some millionaire's kids. But I took the card and said, "How much is on here?"**

**His eyebrows knit together. "What do you mean?"**

**"I mean, when does it run out of cash?"**

**He laughed. "Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay."**

"I really should have kept one of those cards" Percy mumbled remembering what had happened with Annabeth's card it could have really helped my mom he thought

**We took the elevator upstairs and checked out our room. It was a suite with three separate bedrooms and a bar stocked with candy, sodas, and chips. A hotline to room service. Fluffy towels and water beds with feather pillows. A big-screen television with satellite and high-speed Internet. The balcony had its own hot tub, and sure enough, there was a skeet-shooting machine and a shotgun, so you could launch clay pigeons right out over the Las Vegas skyline and plug them with your gun. I didn't see how that could be legal, but I thought it was pretty cool. The view over the Strip and the desert was amazing, though I doubted we'd ever find time to look at the view with a room like this.**

**"Oh, goodness," Annabeth said. "This place is ..."**

**"Sweet," Grover said. "Absolutely sweet."**

**There were clothes in the closet, and they fit me. I frowned, thinking that this was a little strange.**

"And you guys still didn't question it geez it a wonder your all still alive"

**I threw Ares's backpack in the trash can. Wouldn't need that anymore. When we left, I could just charge a new one at the hotel store.**

Ares glared at Percy who shrugged it off he was way too used to Ares glares by now

**I took a shower, which felt awesome after a week of grimy travel. I changed clothes, ate a bag of chips, drank three Cokes, and came out feeling better than I had in a long time. In the back of my mind, some small problem kept nagging me. I'd had a dream or something ... I needed to talk to my friends. But I was sure it could wait.**

Groans went around the room and Athena shot Percy an exasperated look Percy just ignored them and he didn't feel like reminding them that this had already happened and there was nothing he could do to change it

**I came out of the bedroom and found that Annabeth and Grover had also showered and changed clothes. Grover was eating potato chips to his heart's content, while Annabeth cranked up the National Geographic Channel.**

"Seriously all those stations and she goes for national geographic" Thalia shook her head

Athena smiled proudly

Percy looked at Thalia "ok you have got to stop doing that"

"What?"

**"All those stations," I told her, "and you turn on National Geographic. Are you insane?"**

"You know what I'm just going to stop talking"

**"It's interesting."**

**"I feel good," Grover said. "I love this place."**

**Without his even realizing it, the wings sprouted out of his shoes and lifted him a foot off the ground, then back down again.**

**"So what now?" Annabeth asked. "Sleep?"**

"Heck no play time" Nico shouted

**Grover and I looked at each other and grinned. We both held up our green plastic LotusCash cards.**

**"Play time," I said.**

Nico fist bumped Percy

**I couldn't remember the last time I had so much fun. I came from a relatively poor family. Our idea of a splurge was eating out at Burger King and renting a video. A five-star Vegas hotel? Forget it.**

**I bungee-jumped **

Thalia shuddered at the thought

**the lobby five or six times, did the waterslide, snowboarded the artificial ski slope, **

"You can snowboard too" Nico asked

"Ya it's basically like skateboarding"

"Ok if you can snowboard and skateboard then you can definitely surf"

**and played virtual-reality laser tag and FBI sharpshooter. I saw Grover a few times, going from game to game. He really liked the reverse hunter thing—where the deer go out and shoot the rednecks.**

"That sounds like Grover"

**I saw Annabeth playing trivia games and other brainiac stuff. They had this huge 3-D Sim game where you build your own city, and you could actually see the holographic buildings rise on the display board. I didn't think much of it, but Annabeth loved it.**

Thalia smiled happy her friends were having fun but she had the feeling things were about to start going wrong

**I'm not sure when I first realized something was wrong.**

Feelings confirmed, "It's weird that Percy was the first to notice not Annabeth or Grover but Percy"

"You know I'm not entirely clueless" Percy stated

**Probably, it was when I noticed the guy standing next to me at VR sharpshooters. He was about thirteen, I guess, but his clothes were weird. I thought he was some Elvis impersonator's son. He wore bell-bottom jeans and a red T-shirt with black piping, and his hair was permed and gelled like a New Jersey girl's on homecoming night.**

Weird Thalia thought

**We played a game of sharpshooters together and he said, "Groovy, man. Been here two weeks, and the games keep getting better and better."**

**_Groovy?_**

**Later, while we were talking, I said something was "sick," and he looked at me kind of startled, as if he'd never heard the word used that way before.**

Super weird Thalia amended

**He said his name was Darrin, but as soon as I started asking him questions he got bored with me and started to go back to the computer screen.**

**I said, "Hey, Darrin?"**

**"What?"**

**"What year is it?"**

Athena's eyebrows raised Percy was smarter than she gave him credit for

Hazel recognized the look Athena had she remembered when she had thought Percy was just a goofy guy, but then she had realized that he was way more than that and she should defiantly not underestimate him

**He frowned at me. "In the game?"**

**"No. In real life."**

**He had to think about it. "1977."**

"That's insane" Thalia said

"Yeah imagine being in there since 1940" Nico said

**"No," I said, getting a little scared. "Really."**

**"Hey, man. Bad vibes. I got a game happening."**

**After that he totally ignored me.**

**I started talking to people, and I found it wasn't easy. They were glued to the TV screen, or the video game, or their food, or whatever. I found a guy who told me it was 1985. Another guy told me it was 1993. They all claimed they hadn't been in here very long, a few days, a few weeks at most. They didn't really know and they didn't care.**

"It's weird to think we could have ran into each other there" Nico said

**Then it occurred to me: how long had I been here? It seemed like only a couple of hours, but was it?**

"The deadline what if it's already past"

**I tried to remember why we were here. We were going to Los Angeles. We were supposed to find the entrance to the Underworld. My mother ... for a scary second, I had trouble remembering her name. Sally. Sally Jackson. I had to find her. I had to stop Hades from causing World War III.**

Thalia shuddered taking back her previous statement of wanting to go there. For Percy to almost forget his mom that was insane

**I found Annabeth still building her city.**

**"Come on," I told her. "We've got to get out of here."**

**No response.**

**I shook her. "Annabeth?"**

**She looked up, annoyed. "What?**

"Wow even Annabeth was caught"

**"We need to leave."**

**"Leave? What are you talking about? I've just got the towers—"**

**"This place is a trap."**

**She didn't respond until I shook her again. "What?"**

**"Listen. The Underworld. Our quest!"**

**"Oh, come on, Percy. Just a few more minutes."**

"Even that didn't work" Thalia was in shock she always thought it would be Annabeth to realize something like that

**"Annabeth, there are people here from 1977. Kids who have never aged. You check in, and you stay forever."**

**"So?" she asked. "Can you imagine a better place?"**

**I grabbed her wrist and yanked her away from the game.**

**"Hey!" She screamed and hit me, but nobody else even bothered looking at us. They were too busy.**

"She punches really hard" Percy stated

**I made her look directly in my eyes. I said, "Spiders. Large, hairy spiders."**

"That isn't going to work"

**That jarred her. Her vision cleared. "Oh my gods," she said. "How long have we—"**

"I stand corrected"

**"I don't know, but we've got to find Grover."**

**We went searching, and found him still playing Virtual Deer Hunter.**

**"Grover!" we both shouted.**

**He said, "Die, human! Die, silly polluting nasty person!"**

"Dude Grover's scary"

**"Grover!"**

**He turned the plastic gun on me and started clicking, as if I were just another image from the screen.**

**I looked at Annabeth, and together we took Grover by the arms and dragged him away. His flying shoes sprang to life and started tugging his legs in the other direction as he shouted, "No! I just got to a new level! No!"**

"Grover's lost it"

**The Lotus bellhop hurried up to us. "Well, now, are you ready for your platinum cards?"**

**"We're leaving," I told him.**

**"Such a shame," he said, and I got the feeling that he really meant it, that we'd be breaking his heart if we went. "We just added an entire new floor full of games for platinum-card members."**

**He held out the cards, and I wanted one. I knew that if I took one, I'd never leave. I'd stay here, happy forever, playing games forever, and soon I'd forget my mom, and my quest, and maybe even my own name. I'd be playing virtual rifleman with groovy Disco Darrin forever.**

"Creepy" Thalia shuddered

**Grover reached for the card, but Annabeth yanked back his arm and said, "No, thanks."**

**We walked toward the door, and as we did, the smell of the food and the sounds of the games seemed to get more and more inviting. I thought about our room upstairs. We could just stay the night, sleep in a real bed for once...**

"Super creepy" hazel added to Thalia's earlier comment

"It reminds me of the time I pushed Sisyphus's rock I wanted to stop but at the same time I knew I could do it if I just kept going"

Hazel looked at Thalia in shock "you've been to the underworld"

"Ya we all have except Jason, Nico spends the most time there for obvious reasons, and Percy's been there more than any other non-child of hades and then I've only been there that once"

"Why would you be in the field of punishments?" Jason asked.

"I'm sure well read about it and it's kind of a complicated story"

**Then we burst through the doors of the Lotus Casino and ran down the sidewalk. It felt like afternoon, about the same time of day we'd gone into the casino, but something was wrong. The weather had completely changed. It was stormy, with heat lightning flashing out in the desert.**

Everyone looked at Zeus who looked a bit sheepish

**Ares's backpack was slung over my shoulder, which was odd, because I was sure I had thrown it in the trash can in room 4001, but at the moment I had other problems to worry about.**

Athena's eyebrows rose as she thought hard about it there was definitely something odd about that backpack

**I ran to the nearest newspaper stand and read the year first. Thank the gods, it was the same year it had been when we went in. Then I noticed the date: June twentieth.**

"Shit" Thalia cursed.

Both Nico and Percy hit her over the head "Thalia language" they called out

**We had been in the Lotus Casino for five days.** **We had only one day left until the summer solstice. One day to complete our quest.**

"How the heck did you manage that" hazel asked looking at Percy in shock

"Chapters done, here Orion read" Hercules dropped the book in Orion's lap and leaned back in his chair.

AN: ok end of second chapter. Please Review :)


	21. Chapter 21

AN: ok third chapter. This chapter is specifically for one of the guests who gave me this idea I hope you all really enjoy it.

"I think we should wait and finish the book tomorrow it's late" Hera commented "remember 7 am sharp" and with that she vanished the other gods following suit. Zeus stuck around and said a quick good night to his children; as well as Hades which surprised Percy a bit. Then again in this time Hades seemed a bit more loving than in the future. Then he remembered that Zeus had yet to murder Maria, Nico and Bianca's mother, so he wasn't entirely bitter yet.

Poseidon stayed and said goodnight to them as well. Percy smiled at his father, and Poseidon disappeared into sea mist.

"Perce can I talk to you for a minute"

Percy turned "sure Nics what's up?"

Nico dragged Percy away and then turned to look at him "seriously what happens?"

"What?"

"What happens in the future Perce? What makes you smile like that?"

"Like what?" Percy asked a bit defensively

"Like you're trying to be happy"

"I'm not"

"Percy I know fake smiling better than anyone and you are fake smiling and I want to know why"

"Look Nico the future is… complicated and… I'm not allowed to say you know the fates rules and it would ruin the story. Now go to sleep k" Percy turned and started to walk away.

"Percy" Nico called out. Percy didn't turn around. Nico looked at his retreating back shocked for as long as Nico knew Percy he had always confided in him and trusted him even when Nico thought he had lost the older boys trust forever, and yet Percy never turned his back on him. Never until now; Nico wanted to cry for the first time in a long time, he wanted to be a kid, he wanted to scream and get mad at Percy and cry. He wanted the older brother Percy used to be. Nico knew one thing for sure Percy wouldn't be able to be his brother again until after he stopped hiding things from them and that made Nico incredibly depressed as he turned and walked back to his room.

Thalia and Jason made their way back to the room following Perseus and Hercules. "Um Jason" Thalia said trying to get Jason to talk to her

"Hm" Jason let her know he was listening

"I'm sorry but I can't choose between you and Percy you both mean way too much to me… just lets hang out ok let's get to know each other while we're here and lets be brother and sister ok… Jason that's the best I can do."

"Alright Thals I can live with that"

Thalia smiled and put an arm around Jason now all she had to do was get Jason to give Percy a chance but she'd worry about that later.

Perseus winked at her when Jason wasn't looking and she smiled back at him happily

Percy walked back to his room he opened the door and looked into the room a new feature had been added. It was a beautiful fountain in the middle of the common area it was one of the big ones that you could stand in. Percy smiled he walked past it and put his hand out running his fingers through the small waterfall. He willed his hands to get wet and felt the cool water wash over his fingers "thanks dad" he whispered to the air. He walked past it and into the room. He saw both Theseus and Orion talking together. He ignored them and made his way to his own bed. He wanted so badly to talk to them, to ask those questions after all this was a onetime opportunity, but he held back because if he asked them a question they would come back with questions of their own, questions he didn't want to answer and so he turned his back on his half-brothers just as he'd done to Nico. He'd felt bad about that but he couldn't tell Nico, he didn't want to talk about it besides the boy would find out; see it soon enough with his own two eyes. And he just wanted to see them happy; he didn't want to burden them. The stupid curse he had to live through during these readings was enough.

Orion and Theseus watched as Percy turned his back to them then looked at each other they were in for a long night.

That night; just like before, nightmares filled Percy's mind. All he could hear were endless screams and he felt so much horror and terror and yet he couldn't begin to describe what he was seeing. Like his mind couldn't in itself comprehend what his eyes were seeing, he thrashed out. And then he saw Annabeth her smiling face turned scared; she reached out for him screaming his name and Percy tried to reach her to grab her hand but it was pointless. Percy jerked awake gasping.

Theseus and Orion watched as Percy fell asleep. Then they waited, it didn't take long for Percy to start tossing and turning. "Annabeth no it's ok, please don't leave me" he called out, "I promised when we fell…wouldn't leave…please…Tartarus…no no no" the two brothers froze it wasn't possible; it couldn't be no one fell into Tartarus and lived there had to be some mistake. It must be just a nightmare Theseus sighed and moved to wake up his little brother, but as he reached out his hand Percy jerked awake all on his own. He looked around his eyes settled on the two and he looked away. That's when Theseus did some quick thinking.

"Look Percy we know"

"Know what"

"What happened to you?"

"You're lying"

"You talk in your sleep Percy, we know you fell. You can talk to us please" Theseus hoped this worked if Percy questioned him anymore he would be found out but Percy didn't instead he lifted his knees to his chest and to their shock tears started falling.

"It was an accident, we were fighting Arachne and my girlfriend Annabeth was falling into Tartarus the 2 brothers nearly choked, it was true, but they kept their composure knowing that if Percy knew they had lied he'd be furious. I tried to pull her up but her ankle was caught and I couldn't let her fall alone so I went with her. She means everything to me and I wasn't going to let her go not after we just found each other" Percy's tears stopped flowing

"Found each other?" Orion came over and sat on Percy's right side Theseus was on his left.

"Long story it'll be in the books" the brothers nodded

"Talk about it, what's it like maybe talking will help"

"That's just it; I can't explain it" Percy struggled for words "it's like no matter how much I try I can't really put it into words. But its beyond awful, there's a reason the gods fear it. I'm trying to stay strong for everyone but its driving me crazy and I've only been down there for a couple of days. I can't sleep I've tried but…" Percy trailed off like he couldn't really find the words to say.

"I bet the reason you can't talk about it is part of the magic surrounding Tartarus. Like no one can know what it's like unless they travel it themselves" Theseus said "I'm sorry Percy I wish I could say something or do something but I can't."

"I have an idea it's probably going to sound silly but it's something my mother did with me as a child at least it might help you sleep"

"I'm not a child"

"You're a teenager, younger than we are, and it's ok to act like one every now and then"

"Alright what is it."

Orion sat up and walked over to the corner which held some candles and some lighters just in case he grabbed a candle and came back "when I was scared of monsters as a child my mom would light a candle and she would tell me that all the nightmares would burn up in its light and if I ever got lost in a demigod dream all I had to do was follow its warmth back to home." Orion blushed as he said this but Percy smiled so this is what it's like to have older siblings he thought, it felt nice.

Theseus smiled "yeah and we'll be here so if you have a nightmare we can wake you and try again so you can get some sleep"

"You know what I'm too tired to fight this so what the hell"

The two brothers smiled Percy was finally starting to open up to them. Percy closed his eyes and fell back asleep both Orion and Theseus grabbed their pillows and blankets and slept on either side of him the candle burned brightly seeming to watch over the three boys.

AN: ok that's the end of that chapter sorry it's so short. Tell me what you think in a review or private message. Thanks guys I hope you liked these three chapters and if you get the chance and you're a rise of the guardians fan I'd appreciate it if you took a look at my other stories well that's it for now.


	22. Chapter 22

AN: hey guys sorry for not posting I've been really sick as of late and I haven't wanted to move let alone type a chapter. Today I finally felt good enough to get out of bed so here you go hope you guys like it and thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews. And again I'm sorry to say that I will not be bringing in Annabeth if that's what you're looking for I assure you there are plenty other fics out there with her in it. If you don't care either way I hope you all continue to read and enjoy my story. As long as you guys review I will never discontinue or stop writing until the whole series is complete.

DISCLAIMER: I still don't own the books which is a good thing as the series is still unfinished and I don't write nearly as good as rick riordan :) write faster man the suspense is killing me

P.S. sorry on a side note… yes I realize I'm obsessed with Rise of the Guardians and so what if it's a children's movie I'm in college and I still like to have a little magic in my life so I watch fictional movies and don't judge till you've watched it. Sorry that was my little rant session.

Percy woke up throughout the night and Theseus and Orion were right there. In normal occasions Percy might have been upset being treated like a baby but, for the first time in over almost nine months he felt like someone legitimately cared and so instead of feeling annoyed he felt happy. The last time he woke up it was 6:30 and he stayed up knowing they'd have to be in the throne room by 7. Both Orion and Theseus smiled at Percy and Percy smiled back as they made their way to breakfast. Orion and Theseus were happy with themselves they felt closer than ever to their little brother and they were happy that he was opening up to them. Percy took his normal seat in the middle of the couch Thalia sat down on one side but instead of sitting next to Percy Nico sat off to the side a bit giving the seat to Hazel. Thalia and Hazel looked at Nico confused why would he sit over there? Percy grimaced; why couldn't Nico understand he was just trying to protect him? However before anyone could comment the gods flashed in and took their seats. Hera held the book in her hand "Who was supposed to read next?"

"Me" Orion stated raising his hand. Hera handed him the book and Orion opened to the page and read out

"**We Shop For Water Beds**,"

"What?" hazel asked confused everyone else looked at Percy weirdly as well.

"It's difficult to explain just keep reading"

**It was Annabeth's idea.**

"Good at least we know it'll work" Thalia stated

"Hey"

**She loaded us into the back of a Vegas taxi as if we actually had money, and told the driver, "Los Angeles, please."**

"She does realize that's going to cost a lot of money right" Hazel asked

"Relax Hazel its Annabeth; the one thing you could learn about her is she always has a plan"

Athena smiled proudly

**The cabbie chewed his cigar and sized us up. "That's three hundred miles. For that, you gotta pay up front."**

**"You accept casino debit cards?" Annabeth asked.**

"No way, those things actually hold money?" Nico asked

**He shrugged. "Some of 'em. Same as credit cards. I gotta swipe 'em through first."**

**Annabeth handed him her green LotusCash card.**

"I wonder how much is on it. I could so use that"

"What do you need money for?"

"Back then it would have been great for food" Nico said

Hades looked at Nico in concern why would he need food if he was at camp.

**He looked at it skeptically.**

**"Swipe it," Annabeth invited.**

**He did.**

**His meter machine started rattling. The lights flashed. Finally an infinity symbol came up next to the dollar sign.**

"No way I so need to get that back from Allecto" Nico said

"I want to borrow it" Thalia said

"Why" Nico asked

"Do you know how expensive punk style is, trust me these clothes don't come cheap (AN: they really don't my friend is punk/goth and her clothes are damn expensive.)

Percy laughed at the two of them

**The cigar fell out of the driver's mouth. He looked back at us, his eyes wide. "Where to in Los Angeles... uh, Your Highness?"**

Hazel snorted

**"The Santa Monica Pier." Annabeth sat up a little straighter. I could tell she liked the "Your Highness" thing.**

Thalia laughed Annabeth would she thought

**"Get us there fast, and you can keep the change."**

"What Annabeth are you crazy that money could so come in handy on our future quests" Nico pouted

"Ya we weren't thinking about future quests at the time we were too busy trying to get through our current one alive"

**Maybe she shouldn't have told him that. The cab's speedometer never dipped below ninety-five the whole way through the Mojave Desert.**

Thalia smirked "cabbies are so crazy and they never get pulled over."

**On the road, we had plenty of time to talk. I told Annabeth and Grover about my latest dream, but the details got sketchier the more I tried to remember them. The Lotus Casino seemed to have short-circuited my memory.**

Nico nodded "yup it does tend to have that effect"

**I couldn't recall what the invisible servant's voice had sounded like, though I was sure it was somebody I knew. The servant had called the monster in the pit something other than "my lord" ... some special name or title...**

"The crooked one" Athena whispered worried about her children's safety if Cronus was stirring

**"The Silent One?" Annabeth suggested. "The Rich One? Both of those are nicknames for Hades."**

Nico scowled

"Come on Nico it was the only lead we had"

"Whatever"

**"Maybe ..." I said, though neither sounded quite right.**

**"That throne room sounds like Hades's," Grover said. "That's the way it's usually described."**

**I shook my head. "Something's wrong. The throne room wasn't the main part of the dream. And that voice from the pit ... I don't know. It just didn't feel like a god's voice."**

**Annabeth's eyes widened.**

"She gets it now" Hazel stated

**"What?" I asked.**

"Percy's still slow"

"Again first year as a demigod I still wasn't used to this whole thing"

**"Oh ... nothing. I was just—No, it ****_has _****to be Hades. Maybe he sent this thief, this invisible person, to get the master bolt, and something went wrong—"**

"Why is she insisting its Hades when it's obviously not?" Hazel asked

"Because sometimes the better option is the one you know isn't true and you want to believe it because the truth is a much worse option"

"I should not have been able to understand that and yet I did" Thalia said

"Ya you definitely explained that much more complicated then it needed to be" Nico added

"You still understood it so stop complaining" Percy pouted

**"Like what?"**

**"I—I don't know," she said. "But if he stole Zeus's symbol of power from Olympus, and the gods were hunting him, I mean, a lot of things could go wrong. So this thief had to hide the bolt, or he lost it somehow. Anyway, he failed to bring it to Hades. That's what the voice said in your dream, right? The guy failed. That would explain what the Furies were searching for when they came after us on the bus. Maybe they thought we had retrieved the bolt."**

"Even I can tell that that doesn't make any sense" Hazel said

"She's panicking she doesn't want it to be Cronus. Hades is the less of two evils no offense uncle"

"None taken" Hades stated he agreed he was the less of the two by far

"Still just because she doesn't want it to happen doesn't mean it's not going to, isn't that what the gods did and that allowed Cronus to ri….mmph" Thalia covered Nico's mouth

"Don't ruin the story Nico" she then turned to Orion "keep reading"

**I wasn't sure what was wrong with her. She looked pale.**

The 12 older gods did as well

**"But if I'd already retrieved the bolt," I said, "why would I be traveling to the Underworld?"**

"Wow I think this is the first time I've heard Percy making more sense than Annabeth"

**"To threaten Hades," Grover suggested. "To bribe or blackmail him into getting your mom back."**

"Geez Grover evil thoughts"

**I whistled. "You have evil thoughts for a goat."**

**"Why, thank you."**

Nico laughed "I like this Grover"

Thalia smiled "you would death breath"

"Shut it air head"

**"But the thing in the pit said it was waiting for ****_two _****items," I said. "If the master bolt is one, what's the other?"**

Athena nodded the more the book explained the more she was sure that her suspicions from earlier were right. (AN: in case you forgot in an earlier chapter she had a suspicion that something else was stolen and it was most likely hades' helm.)

**Grover shook his head, clearly mystified.**

**Annabeth was looking at me as if she knew my next question, and was silently willing me not to ask it.**

All the older gods were looking at the book the same way they did not want to even consider the possibility of another war with their father

**"You have an idea what might be in that pit, don't you?" I asked her. "I mean, if it isn't Hades?"**

**"Percy ... let's not talk about it. Because if it isn't Hades ... No. It has to be Hades."**

Hades wanted to feel irked but he found that he'd rather it be him than father any day

**Wasteland rolled by. We passed a sign that said CALIFORNIA STATE LINE, 12 MILES.**

**I got the feeling I was missing one simple, critical piece of information. It was like when I stared at a common word I should know, but I couldn't make sense of it because one or two letters were floating around. The more I thought about my quest, the more I was sure that confronting Hades wasn't the real answer. There was something else going on, something even more dangerous.**

His instincts are amazing Artemis thought to herself as she looked at Percy

**The problem was: we were hurtling toward the Underworld at ninety-five miles an hour, betting that Hades had the master bolt. If we got there and found out we were wrong, we wouldn't have time to correct ourselves. The solstice deadline would pass and war would begin.**

"Ahh quests got to love them" Nico stated sarcastically

**"The answer is in the Underworld," Annabeth assured me.**

"She was right" Percy stated "for the most part anyway"

**"You saw spirits of the dead, Percy. There's only one place that could be. We're doing the right thing."**

Nico shrugged she had a point although he was still a bit irritated with her

**She tried to boost our morale by suggesting clever strategies for getting into the Land of the Dead, but my heart wasn't in it. There were just too many unknown factors. It was like cramming for a test without knowing the subject. And believe me, I'd done ****_that _****enough times.**

"How exactly do you do that" Athena asked

"Umm it's really hard to explain" Percy said back

**The cab sped west. Every gust of wind through Death Valley sounded like a spirit of the dead. Every time the brakes hissed on an eighteen-wheeler, it reminded me of Echidna's reptilian voice.**

"Dramatic much" hades stated dryly

**At sunset, the taxi dropped us at the beach in Santa Monica. It looked exactly the way L.A. beaches do in the movies, only it smelled worse.**

"How do you know what the beaches smelled like in the movies, movies don't smell" Thalia asked. Percy just shot her a glare that clearly said 'ha-ha very funny don't make fun of my thoughts' (if anyone could pull off a look that says all that let me know :))

**There were carnival rides lining the Pier, palm trees lining the sidewalks, homeless guys sleeping in the sand dunes, and surfer dudes waiting for the perfect wave.**

**Grover, Annabeth, and I walked down to the edge of the surf.**

**"What now?" Annabeth asked.**

"He goes into the water" Nico said in a 'no duh' voice

"Nico L.A. water is incredibly toxic"

"That won't hurt him"

"They don't know that"

"Whatever"

**The Pacific was turning gold in the setting sun. I thought about how long it had been since I'd stood on the beach at Montauk, on the opposite side of the country, looking out at a different sea.**

**How could there be a god who could control all that? What did my science teacher used to say—two-thirds of the earth's surface was covered in water? How could I be the son of someone that powerful?**

Poseidon smiled his chest puffed out a bit both Hades and Zeus rolled their eyes.

**I stepped into the surf**

**"Percy?" Annabeth said. "What are you doing?"**

**I kept walking, up to my waist, then my chest.**

**She called after me, "You know how polluted that water is? There're all kinds of toxic—"**

**That's when my head went under.**

"Well I guess that's one way to get her to stop talking"

Percy shot a mock glare at Nico, but as Nico was ignoring Percy he didn't notice and Percy sighed how was he going to fix this.

**I held my breath at first. It's difficult to intentionally inhale water. Finally I couldn't stand it anymore. I gasped. Sure enough, I could breathe normally.**

"I wonder sometimes what that would feel like" Nico stated Thalia nodded. Percy smiled remembering how weird it had felt at first, now he did it without thinking, or at least he used to. Lately he'd had a hard time with that because of his slight… fear. But slowly that was beginning to fade although there was still that residing fear in the back of his mind much like the fear he had developed after the guinea pig incident and he wondered if he'd ever fully get over it.

**I walked down into the shoals. I shouldn't have been able to see through the murk, but somehow I could tell where everything was. I could sense the rolling texture of the bottom. I could make out sand-dollar colonies dotting the sandbars. I could even see the currents, warm and cold streams swirling together.**

Hazel had her eyes closed, listening, trying to imagine what it could have looked like.

**I felt something rub against my leg. I looked down and almost shot out of the water like a ballistic missile. Sliding along beside me was a five-foot-long mako shark.**

"Wow cool" Nico said going into mytho-magic Nico mode

**But the thing wasn't attacking. It was nuzzling me. Heeling like a dog.**

"Even cooler" Nico stated "that would be so awesome"

**Tentatively, I touched its dorsal fin. It bucked a little, as if inviting me to hold tighter. I grabbed the fin with both hands.**

Nico looked to be in pure awe and Percy made a mental note to take Nico down one day and have a guy day; swimming with sharks and other such kick ass things, you know the works. Nico would like that. Then Percy remembered he was in Tartarus; would he even get the chance to do anything.

**It took off, pulling me along. The shark carried me down into the darkness. It deposited me at the edge of the ocean proper, where the sand bank dropped off into a huge chasm. It was like standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon at midnight, not being able to see much, but knowing the void was right there.**

Thalia shuddered, under water or on the ground heights did so not sit well with her

**The surface shimmered maybe a hundred and fifty feet above. I knew I should've been crushed by the pressure. Then again, I shouldn't have been able to breathe. I wondered if there was a limit to how deep I could go, if I could sink straight to the bottom of the Pacific.**

"You can go to any depth you'd like" Poseidon answered

**Then I saw something glimmering in the darkness below, growing bigger and brighter as it rose toward me. A woman's voice, like my mother's, called: "Percy Jackson."**

**As she got closer, her shape became clearer. She had flowing black hair, a dress made of green silk. Light flickered around her, and her eyes were so distractingly beautiful I hardly noticed the stallion-sized sea horse she was riding.**

Thalia and Artemis rolled their eyes men they both thought

**She dismounted. The sea horse and the mako shark whisked off and started playing something that looked like tag.**

Nico laughed imagining it and Hazel smiled

**The underwater lady smiled at me. "You've come far, Percy Jackson. Well done."**

**I wasn't quite sure what to do, so I bowed. "You're the woman who spoke to me in the Mississippi River."**

"She must feel quite flattered to have someone she thinks of as a prince bowing to her; she probably thinks your very polite" Poseidon said smiling Percy blushed

**"Yes, child. I am a Nereid, a spirit of the sea. It was not easy to appear so far upriver, but the naiads, my freshwater cousins, helped sustain my life force. They honor Lord Poseidon, though they do not serve in his court."**

Poseidon smiled it was nice that the fresh water naiads still honored him

**"And ... you serve in Poseidon's court?"**

**She nodded. "It has been many years since a child of the Sea God has been born. We have watched you with great interest."**

Percy blushed

**Suddenly I remembered faces in the waves off Montauk Beach when I was a little boy, reflections of smiling women. Like so many of the weird things in my life, I'd never given it much thought before.**

Poseidon laughed he was happy his people loved his son so much.

**"If my father is so interested in me," I said, "why isn't he here? Why doesn't he speak to me?"**

Poseidon's smiled faded and he sighed "I wish I could be" he whispered

**A cold current rose out of the depths.**

Poseidon frowned, in this time he was regretful but in the future he seemed angry at his son. How they had changed in the future; if it was him now he would have sent a warm current of comfort rather than a cold current of warning.

**"Do not judge the Lord of the Sea too harshly," the Nereid told me. "He stands at the brink of an unwanted war. He has much to occupy his time. Besides, he is forbidden to help you directly. The gods may not show such favoritism."**

"It doesn't have to be favoritism you just have to show that you care" Percy stated in frustration. Thalia put an arm around Percy she knew how many demi gods had begged Percy to change things, how they had told him of all their sadness of being uncared for. Percy had to shoulder all of that and she could understand why he'd still be a bit bitter about it.

**"Even to their own children?"**

**"Especially to them. The gods can work by indirect influence only. That is why I give you a warning, and a gift."**

Poseidon sighed at least he gave his son something to help

**She held out her hand. Three white pearls flashed in her palm.**

**"I know you journey to Hades's realm," she said. "Few mortals have ever done this and survived: Orpheus, who had great music skill; Hercules, who had great strength; Houdini, who could escape even the depths of Tartarus. Do you have these talents?"**

"Nope" Percy stated

Hercules smiled like the puny little thing could match his strength

"You have strength for the most part (Hercules rolled his eyes ya right) and for all we know you might be able to sing" Thalia stated

"I wouldn't know and I don't fancy finding out"

"Seriously you've never sang before?"

"Nope"

"Why?"

"Because I haven't… I don't know. Why?"

"I'm just curious"

"And you'll stay curious"

"Oh come on Percy"

"Nope please read"

**"Urn ... no, ma'am."**

**"Ah, but you have something else, Percy. You have gifts you have only begun to know. The oracles have foretold a great and terrible future for you, should you survive to man hood.**

Poseidon frowned; great sounded nice, but to be great you had to go through such hardships and Poseidon didn't fancy his son going through that.

Percy sighed surviving that sounded nice

**Poseidon would not have you die before your time.**

I would not have him die at all if I could help it Poseidon thought to himself but it was rare if almost never that a demigod actually got offered immortality.

** Therefore take these, and when you are in need, smash a pearl at your feet."**

**"What will happen?"**

**"That," she said, "depends on the need. But remember: what belongs to the sea will always return to the sea."**

"Cryptic" Nico said

"Like usual" Thalia laughed

"Unless its Mars giving a quest" Hazel whispered, Percy snorted at that the others looked at them confused but Percy and Hazel just waved them off.

**"What about the warning?"**

**Her eyes flickered with green light. "Go with what your heart tells you, or you will lose all. **

"Seriously why can't anyone give straight answers is that like an ancient rule; you have to be as abstract as possible or else" Nico said

**Hades feeds on doubt and hopelessness. He will trick you if he can, make you mistrust your own judgment. **

Hades smiled he sounded so badass

**Once you are in his realm, he will never willingly let you leave. Keep faith. Good luck, Percy Jackson."**

**She summoned her sea horse and rode toward the void.**

Nico rolled his eyes at the dramaticness of it all he hadn't ever noticed how bad it was because he hadn't ever paid attention to it but reading about it made it so obvious

**"Wait!" I called. "At the river, you said not to trust the gifts. What gifts?"**

**"Good-bye, young hero," she called back, her voice fading into the depths. "You must listen to your heart." She became a speck of glowing green, and then she was gone.**

**I wanted to follow her down into the darkness. I wanted to see the court of Poseidon. But I looked up at the sunset darkening on the surface. My friends were waiting. We had so little time...**

"You'll see it soon" Poseidon promised

**I kicked upward toward the shore.**

**When I reached the beach, my clothes dried instantly. I told Grover and Annabeth what had happened, and showed them the pearls.**

"I'm sure they were shocked"

"Yeah, they told me later that it seemed like I was down there forever"

**Annabeth grimaced. "No gift comes without a price."**

**"They were free."**

**"No." She shook her head. "'There is no such thing as a free lunch.' That's an ancient Greek saying that translated pretty well into American. There will be a price. You wait."**

Percy sighed there had been a price, he had had to leave his mom behind, he'd been forced to choose between himself and his mom. He wondered if that had been a test so that Poseidon could see if Percy would make the right choice; somehow that made sense and he felt a stab of anger toward his dad for that. Leaving his mom had been the hardest thing he'd ever had to do.

**On that happy thought, we turned our backs on the sea.**

**With some spare change from Ares's backpack, we took the bus into West Hollywood. I showed the driver the Underworld address slip I'd taken from Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium, but he'd never heard of DOA Recording Studios.**

"Of course not that would have been way too easy"

**"You remind me of somebody I saw on TV," he told me. "You a child actor or something?"**

"Quick Annabeth lie before Percy says something stupid" Thalia said

**"Uh ... I'm a stunt double ... for a lot of child actors."**

"See it wasn't that bad"

"Wasn't that good either"

**"Oh! That explains it."**

**We thanked him and got off quickly at the next stop.**

**We wandered for miles on foot, looking for DOA. Nobody seemed to know where it was. It didn't appear in the phone book.**

"Of course not" Hermes said

"Too easy" Apollo added

**Twice, we ducked into alleys to avoid cop cars.**

**I froze in front of an appliance-store window because a television was playing an interview with somebody who looked very familiar—my stepdad, Smelly Gabe. He was talking to Barbara Walters—I mean, as if he were some kind of huge celebrity. She was interviewing him in our apartment, in the middle of a poker game, and there was a young blond lady sitting next to him, patting his hand.**

Everyone glared at the book a few people even letting out a few growls. Poseidon looked murderous then he looked to Percy he had yet to get the boy to talk to him. He had been trying to give Percy some space for a while but hearing about this asshole again made him want to talk to Percy about it more than ever.

**A fake tear glistened on his cheek. He was saying, "Honest, Ms. Walters, if it wasn't for Sugar here, my grief counselor, I'd be a wreck. My stepson took everything I cared about. My wife ... my Camaro ... I—I'm sorry. I have trouble talking about it."**

Percy glared harshly at the floor then he took a deep breathe Gabe got what was coming to him

**"There you have it, America." Barbara Walters turned to the camera. "A man torn apart. An adolescent boy with serious issues. Let me show you, again, the last known photo of this troubled young fugitive, taken a week ago in Denver."**

Everyone now looked even more angry; how dare they call the boy troubled they didn't have a clue, was going through the demigods (including Perseus Orion and Theseus) and Poseidon's and Hestia's mind.

Percy sighed he got that reaction a lot. He remembered meeting Paul's family they had followed this whole story on the news at the time and they hadn't quite believed that in the end he was innocent. So when they had met him they had that automatic he's a troubled kid reaction to him and to this day they still hate him. They had actually tried to convince Paul to send him to military camp to 'straighten him out' as they had put it. Worst weekend at home ever.

**The screen cut to a grainy shot of me, Annabeth, and Grover standing outside the Colorado diner, talking to Ares.**

**"Who are the other children in this photo?" Barbara Walters asked dramatically. "Who is the man with them? Is Percy Jackson a delinquent, a terrorist, or perhaps the brainwashed victim of a frightening new cult? When we come back, we chat with a leading child psychologist. Stay tuned, America."**

"None of the above" Hazel answered

"Thanks Hazel"

"No problem" Hazel said smiling back

**"C'mon," Grover told me. He hauled me away before I could punch a hole in the appliance-store window.**

Thalia raised her eyebrows at Percy who smiled sheepishly back at her

**It got dark, and hungry-looking characters started coming out on the streets to play.**

"Is Percy scared?" Ares said mockingly

** Now, don't get me wrong. I'm a New Yorker. I don't scare easy.**

"Sometimes it's as if you don't scare at all, what with all the crazy shit you do"

"Thalia language" Nico said

Thalia blushed

** But L.A. had a totally different feel from New York. Back home, everything seemed close. It didn't matter how big the city was, you could get anywhere without getting lost. The street pattern and the subway made sense. There was a system to how things worked. A kid could be safe as long as he wasn't stupid.**

"You only feel that way because you grew up there"

**L.A. wasn't like that. It was spread out, chaotic, hard to move around. It reminded me of Ares. It wasn't enough for L.A. to be big; it had to prove it was big by being loud and strange and difficult to navigate, too. **

A few gods snorted it was an apt description of Ares

**I didn't know how we were ever going to find the entrance to the Underworld by tomorrow, the summer solstice.**

**We walked past gangbangers, bums, and street hawkers, who looked at us like they were trying to figure if we were worth the trouble of mugging.**

"As long as you don't stop you should be fine" Jason said Percy blushed remembering what happened next.

**As we hurried passed the entrance of an alley, a voice from the darkness said, "Hey, you."**

**Like an idiot, I stopped.**

"No. Weren't you listening to Jason, Percy you're supposed to not stop" Thalia said. Percy stuck his tongue out at her

**Before I knew it, we were surrounded. A gang of kids had circled us. Six of them in all—white kids with expensive clothes and mean faces. Like the kids at Yancy Academy: rich brats playing at being bad boys.**

**Instinctively, I uncapped Riptide.**

"Good going Percy you do know you can't use it?"

"But it should be affective as long as he doesn't swing" Hazel said. Percy blushed again

**When the sword appeared out of nowhere, the kids backed off, but their leader was either really stupid or really brave, because he kept coming at me with a switchblade.**

**I made the mistake of swinging.**

"Again Percy, Hazel just said don't swing" Percy rolled his eyes

**The kid yelped. But he must've been one hundred per cent mortal, because the blade passed harmlessly right through his chest. He looked down. **

**"What the ..."**

**I figured I had about three seconds before his shock turned to anger. "Run!" I screamed at Annabeth and Grover.**

"I'm sure they didn't need you to yell it at them"

**We pushed two kids out of the way and raced down the street, not knowing where we were going. We turned a sharp corner.**

**"There!" Annabeth shouted.**

**Only one store on the block looked open, its windows glaring with neon. The sign above the door said something like CRSTUY'S WATRE BDE ALPACE.**

Everyone laughed at Orion as he tried to read the demigod dyslexic babble before he just shook his head and moved on

**"Crusty's Water Bed Palace?" Grover translated.**

**It didn't sound like a place I'd ever go except in an emergency,**

"I think this qualifies"

** but this definitely qualified.**

Thalia looked annoyed at herself

**We burst through the doors, ran behind a water bed, and ducked. A split second later, the gang kids ran past outside.**

**"I think we lost them," Grover panted.**

**A voice behind us boomed, "Lost who?"**

"Always watch your back" Jason said a bit of snark in his voice

"Ya I got that" Percy shot back irked at being made fun of for something in the past Thalia glared at the both of them and Jason turned away he just made up with his sister he didn't want her mad at him again

**We all jumped. Standing behind us was a guy who looked like a raptor in a leisure suit. He was at least seven feet tall, with absolutely no hair. He had gray, leathery skin, thick-lidded eyes, and a cold, reptilian smile. He moved toward us slowly, but I got the feeling he could move fast if he needed to.**

"Monster" Nico said.

**His suit might've come from the Lotus Casino. It belonged back in the seventies, big-time. The shirt was silk paisley, unbuttoned halfway down his hairless chest. The lapels on his velvet jacket were as wide as landing strips. The silver chains around his neck—I couldn't even count them.**

Aphrodite shuddered even now 70 years in the past the man didn't have style how horrifying

**"I'm Crusty," he said, with a tartar-yellow smile.**

**I resisted the urge to say, ****_Yes, you are._**

The demigods (Nico Thalia hazel Orion Perseus and Theseus) all snorted

**"Sorry to barge in," I told him. "We were just, um, browsing."**

**"You mean hiding from those no-good kids," he grumbled. "They hang around every night. I get a lot of people in here, thanks to them. Say, you want to look at a water bed?"**

**I was about to say ****_No, thanks, _****when he put a huge paw on my shoulder and steered me deeper into the showroom.**

"Yup" Thalia said agreeing with Nico "definitely a monster"

**There was every kind of water bed you could imagine: different kinds of wood, different patterns of sheets; queen-size, king-size, emperor-of-the-universe-size.**

**"This is my most popular model." Crusty spread his hands proudly over a bed covered with black satin sheets, with built-in Lava Lamps on the headboard. The mattress vibrated, so it looked like oil-flavored Jell-O.**

"The lava lamps sound awesome" Apollo stated

**"Million-hand massage," Crusty told us. "Go on, try it out. Shoot, take a nap. I don't care. No business today, any-way.**

Theseus had been studying the book for a while now thinking on why the man sounded so familiar and finally he had it; Procrustes. It had to be him he looked the same apart from clothes and he owned a bed shop. He looked over at Percy how would he handle this Theseus wondered

**"Um," I said, "I don't think ..."**

**"Million-hand massage!" Grover cried, and dove in. "Oh, you guys! This is cool."**

Theseus rolled his eyes for being a protective satyr he wasn't doing too good a job, but Theseus kept his mouth shut after all this goat was his little brothers friend.

**"Hmm," Crusty said, stroking his leathery chin. "Almost, almost."**

**"Almost what?" I asked.**

"He almost fits" Theseus said to himself except Orion Perseus and Hercules heard as well

"What?" Orion asked

"It's Procrustes" Theseus stated so only they could hear him. Perseus nodded looking more interested it was so fascinating to see how the other heroes handled the same monsters they did.

**He looked at Annabeth. "Do me a favor and try this one over here, honey. Might fit."**

**Annabeth said, "But what—"**

**He patted her reassuringly on the shoulder and led her over to the Safari Deluxe model with teakwood lions carved into the frame and a leopard-patterned comforter. When Annabeth didn't want to lie down, Crusty pushed her.**

"Not good this should definitely alert you guys" Nico stated

"Ya but the alert was a little too late" Percy said

**"Hey!" she protested.**

**Crusty snapped his fingers. ****_"Ergo!"_**

**Ropes sprang from the sides of the bed, lashing around Annabeth, holding her to the mattress.**

**Grover tried to get up, but ropes sprang from his black-satin bed, too, and lashed him down.**

Theseus nodded he didn't change much that's for sure now how was Percy going to stop him after all he did have his friends captured

**"N-not c-c-cool!" he yelled, his voice vibrating from the million-hand massage. "N-not c-cool a-at all!"**

"Way to state the obvious goat boy" Thalia said

**The giant looked at Annabeth, then turned toward me and grinned. "Almost, darn it."**

**I tried to step away, but his hand shot out and clamped around the back of my neck. "Whoa, kid. Don't worry. We'll find you one in a sec."**

"Great I'm sure Percy's looking forward to that" Nico said sarcastically

**"Let my friends go."**

**"Oh, sure I will. But I got to make them fit, first."**

"What is his obsession with fitting" Theseus stated "it's weird"

**"What do you mean?"**

**"All the beds are exactly six feet, see? Your friends are too short. Got to make them fit."**

Athena sat forward a bit, ok so her daughters fate rested in the sea spawn it would be ok she thought. So far Percy had been at least somewhat wise and for the most part capable he should be able to handle this.

**Annabeth and Grover kept struggling.**

**"Can't stand imperfect measurements," Crusty muttered. ****_"Ergo!"_**

**A new set of ropes leaped out from the top and bottom of the beds, wrapping around Grover and Annabeth's ankles, then around their armpits. The ropes started tightening, pulling my friends from both ends.**

"Ouch that sounds awful" Nico said the others agreed

**"Don't worry," Crusty told me, "These are stretching jobs. Maybe three extra inches on their spines. They might even live. Now why don't we find a bed you like, huh?"**

"Three extra inches on the spine ugh" Hazel shuddered at just the thought.

**"Percy!" Grover yelled.**

**My mind was racing. I knew I couldn't take on this giant water-bed salesman alone. He would snap my neck before I ever got my sword out.**

"Exactly" said Athena "so use wisdom instead of brawn"

**"Your real name's not Crusty, is it?" I asked.**

**"Legally, it's Procrustes," he admitted.**

"Which isn't much better either way you look at it"

**"The Stretcher," I said. I remembered the story: the giant who'd tried to kill Theseus with excess hospitality on his way to Athens.**

Theseus smiled it was kind of cool to be known as a legend

**"Yeah," the salesman said. "But who can pronounce ****_Procrustes? _****Bad for business. Now 'Crusty,' anybody can say that."**

**"You're right. It's got a good ring to it."**

"It's a good idea but don't take too long" Athena nodded

**His eyes lit up. "You think so?"**

**"Oh, absolutely," I said. "And the workmanship on these beds? Fabulous!"**

Theseus smiled, an interesting approach one that was not too far off of what he had done

**He grinned hugely, but his fingers didn't loosen on my neck. "I tell my customers that. Every time. Nobody bothers to look at the workmanship. How many built-in Lava Lamp headboards have you seen?"**

"Procrustes or not I still say that's cool" Apollo said making Artemis roll her eyes at her brother in disdain

**"Not too many."**

**"That's right!"**

**"Percy!" Annabeth yelled. "What are you doing?"**

**"Don't mind her," I told Procrustes. "She's impossible."**

Athena threw a small glare at Percy but she understood why he'd say such a thing

**The giant laughed. "All my customers are. Never six feet exactly. So inconsiderate. And then they complain about the fitting."**

"Who wouldn't complain about being stretched?" Hazel muttered

**"What do you do if they're longer than six feet?"**

**"Oh, that happens all the time. It's a simple fix."**

**He let go of my neck, but before I could react, he reached behind a nearby sales desk and brought out a huge double-bladed brass axe.**

"Great now he has an axe as well, wonderful plan big shot" Jason said under his breath, Nico twitched he wanted to yell at Jason but he didn't. Somehow he just couldn't bring himself to.

**He said, "I just center the subject as best I can and lop off whatever hangs over on either end."**

**"Ah," I said, swallowing hard. "Sensible."**

**"I'm so glad to come across an intelligent customer!"**

Athena and Thalia snorted and Percy mock punched Thalia

**The ropes were really stretching my friends now. Annabeth was turning pale. Grover made gurgling sounds, like a strangled goose.**

"Hurry" Athena said now looking a bit more worried

**"So, Crusty ..." I said, trying to keep my voice light. I glanced at the sales tag on the valentine-shaped Honeymoon Special. "Does this one really have dynamic stabilizers to stop wave motion?"**

**"Absolutely. Try it out."**

**"Yeah, maybe I will. But would it work even for a big guy like you? No waves at all?"**

Theseus smirked go Percy he thought

**"Guaranteed."**

**"No way."**

**"Way."**

**"Show me."**

Athena nodded "yes hurry so he can save my daughter"

**He sat down eagerly on the bed, patted the mattress. "No waves. See?"**

**I snapped my fingers. ****_"Ergo."_**

"Ya woo!" Hermes and Apollo cheered until Artemis glared at them

**Ropes lashed around Crusty and flattened him against the mattress.**

**"Hey!" he yelled.**

Theseus smiled "I don't know why he's complaining he should be used to this"

**"Center him just right," I said.**

**The ropes readjusted themselves at my command. Crusty's whole head stuck out the top. His feet stuck out the bottom.**

**"No!" he said. "Wait! This is just a demo."**

"Cause that's gunna stop Percy"

**I uncapped Riptide. "A few simple adjustments ..."**

**I had no qualms about what I was about to do. If Crusty were human, I couldn't hurt him anyway. If he was a monster, he deserved to turn into dust for a while.**

Theseus smiled at his little brother his success made him happy which was an odd feeling for Theseus as he was a loner and didn't care for other heroes

**"You drive a hard bargain," he told me. "I'll give you thirty percent off on selected floor models.'"**

"Seriously that's how he's going to get out of it by selling you a water bed" Thalia said

**"I think I'll start with the top." I raised my sword.**

**"No money down! No interest for six months!"**

**I swung the sword. Crusty stopped making offers.**

"Good it's about time he shuts up" Nico said

**I cut the ropes on the other beds. Annabeth and Grover got to their feet, groaning and wincing and cursing me a lot.**

Athena sighed and sat back in her throne, true Percy could have gone a bit faster but for what it's worth she had to admit he'd done pretty good

**"You look taller," I said.**

Thalia laughed "I'm sure she appreciated that"

**"Very funny," Annabeth said. "Be faster next time."**

**I looked at the bulletin board behind Crusty's sales desk. There was an advertisement for Hermes Delivery Service, and another for the All-New Compendium of L.A. Area Monsters—"The only Monstrous Yellow Pages you'll ever need!" Under that, a bright orange flier for DOA Recording Studios, offering commissions for heroes' souls. "We are always looking for new talent!" DOA's address was right underneath with a map.**

Athena smiled Percy Jackson was not as dumb as he first portrayed himself to be that was for sure

**"Come on," I told my friends.**

**"Give us a minute," Grover complained. "We were almost stretched to death.'"**

**"Then you're ready for the Underworld," I said. "It's only a block from here."**

"Nice one" Thalia said

"Ya I thought so" Percy smiled back at her and Thalia gave him a small shock

"Ok I'm done who wants to read next?" Orion asked

"I will" Hazel volunteered getting up and taking the book from Orion she settled back down in her seat and began to read

AN: another chapter down, ok guys I'm trying to update faster because I know how much it sucks waiting for another chapter. Anyway I just want to say thank you to all my readers because I know that there are a lot of stories out there like mine and its cool that you guys like this one I hope you all continue to read and review so thanks!


	23. Chapter 23

Hey Guys i'm sorry not and update, but don't worry i'm almost done with the latest chapters. Anyway I've been doing a lot of doodleing lately and I decided to draw all the big three kids in my story; how I see them together. I tried to upload it to this site but it wasnt working for me so I put on at this address art/Percy-Jackson-354602541?ga_submit_new=10%253A1361022074 please check it out and let me know what you think or if you have any requests for other characters. I might even doodle some scenes from my story. It would really make my day if you did check me out my deviantart account name is LuvWrites like here and it pretty new so right now this is the only pic up. ok thats it for now i hope to have your chapter up by this next week. thanks love to you all.

ok so the site isn't working im not sure why but if you go to and type luvwrites into the search bar my pic is the only thing that will pop up. Also jason kind of looks girly becuase my pen started to mess up near the end either way i hope you all like it


	24. Chapter 24

AN: I hate AN but I keep reading your reviews and I feel like I need to explain. Ok 1. dont worry like I've said before I will never abandon this story however I'm having technical difficulties I have written and lost this chapter a total of 3 times becuase my laptop is having issues. I can't afford to buy a new one so I'm having to work around the spasms this one is having and its been incredibly difficult what with college and trying to write this story. I think I have a new way to write this though so hopefully, and I cant make any promises, hopefully this works and I can have the next chapter up. I am sorry and believe me it's frustrating for me as well this will be the fourth time I'm having to write this chapter so please forgive me ;( please ...


	25. Chapter 25

THIS CHAPER IS CURSED! I fixed my computer and it still managed to lose half the chapter even after I saved it grr! Wish me luck on the next chapter.

AN: OK guys thanks for being so understanding it means a lot to me. And here's the next chapter I hope you all enjoy. – On a side note (and I know I've said this before) if you don't like my story there is no reason to be rude about it, there are plenty of other stories out there so go read one of those. Now that being said I do take constructive criticism. Please I like constructive criticism. (As long as you're not asking Annabeth to be brought in… sorry it's just not going to happen).

RANT: I just watched the Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters trailer, and part of me is excited and part of me is dreading it! I mean look how badly they screwed up the first movie, I can only imagine what they're going to do to the second! The only reason I'm excited is because damn is Logan Lerman the perfect Percy Jackson and Clarisse and Hermes look good, but if they screw up the story line again I'm going to scream! Please movie don't be dumb please please please! Ok sorry I just had to rant on that for a moment.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything at all

"**Annabeth Does Obedience School.**" Hazel read.

Everyone looked at the book in confusion trying to figure out what the hell that meant. Except Hades, who put two and two together, and was now torn between looking amused or annoyed at the fact that Athena's daughter was going to try to train Cerberus.

**We stood in the shadows of Valencia Boulevard, looking up at gold letters etched in black marble: DOA RECORDING STUDIOS.**  
"Why a recording studio?" Hazel asked. She had always wondered that.

Hades shrugged at his daughter "Persephone picked it"

Nico wrinkled his nose at the sound of his stepmother's name

**Underneath, stenciled on the glass doors: NO SOLICITORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING.**

"Right to the point" Apollo stated smiling "I like it"

Hades rolled his eyes at his nephew

**It was almost midnight, but the lobby was brightly lit and full of people. Behind the security desk sat a tough-looking guard with sunglasses and an earpiece.**

"Charon" Hades stated in a tone that suggested that said man annoyed him greatly

**I turned to my friends. "Okay. You remember the plan."**

Thalia snorted "Oh this is gunna be good." Percy elbowed her in the side good naturedly "What? No 'hey I have good plans'" Thalia asked when Percy didn't jump to defend himself. Percy turned bright red and pouted a bit as Thalia broke into laughter "yup your plan failed didn't it"

"Epically" Percy admitted.

"Then how'd you get to Hades?" Hazel asked

"Annabeth" both Percy and Thalia and Nico all said together as though it were obvious

**Annabeth said, "What happens if the plan doesn't work?"**

"You step in and save them" Thalia stated smiling

**"Don't think negative."**

Nico couldn't help but snort at that "Said the most pessimistic person we know"

**"Right," she said. "We're entering the Land of the Dead, and I shouldn't think negative."**

Everyone chuckled or smiled at that "Well she has a point" Jason reasoned

**I took the pearls out of my pocket, the three milky spheres the Nereid had given me in Santa Monica. They didn't seem like much of a backup in case something went wrong.**

Athena frowned, why three pearls Poseidon knew Hades had Percy's mother so why give Percy only three; what was he trying to prove.

**Annabeth put her hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Percy. You're right, we'll make it. It'll be fine."**

**She gave Grover a nudge.**

**"Oh, right!" he chimed in. "We got this far. We'll find the master bolt and save your mom. No problem."**

"You have very good friends" Hestia said a smile gracing her soft features

Percy smiled back at her and nodded "Yeah their pretty amazing"

**I looked at them both, and felt really grateful. Only a few minutes before, I'd almost gotten them stretched to death on deluxe water beds, and now they were trying to be brave for my sake, trying to make me feel better.**

"They went through more than that for you; they almost got killed on a bus, then almost got turned to stone, and then…"

"Yeah, yeah ok, we get it, we get it besides I already said they were amazing. You all are." Percy said smiling at them all "Without you guys I would've died a long time ago"

Poseidon shuddered at the mere thought of his son's death

**I slipped the pearls back in my pocket. "Let's whup some Underworld butt.**

"Nah you don't do that for another couple of years" Nico said to himself smiling as he pictured his father's face when Percy had kicked his army's butt.

**We walked inside the DOA lobby.**

**Music played softly on hidden speakers. The carpet and walls were steel gray. Pencil cactuses grew in the corners like skeleton hands. The furniture was black leather, and every seat was taken. There were people sitting on couches, people standing up, people staring out the windows or waiting for the elevator.**

"They'll be waiting for a long while" Hades said eyes gleaming coldly Demeter glared harshly at Hades who proceeded to ignore her

** Nobody moved, or talked, or did much of anything. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see them all just fine, but if I focused on any one of them in particular, they started looking ... transparent. I could see right through their bodies.**

"Demigods can see the dead clearer than mortals. If a mortal was to look directly at a ghost then they wouldn't see anything." Nico said "It's like when some people think they see something out of the corner of their eyes, but when they turn there's nothing there it was probably a ghost"

**The security guard's desk was a raised podium, so we had to look up at him.**

Hades rolled his eyes remembering how excited Charon had been when that feature had been put in so he could look down on all the dead. He kept going on and on about how much more intimidating he'd be and blah, blah, blah!

**He was tall and elegant, with chocolate-colored skin and bleached-blond hair shaved military style. He wore tortoiseshell shades and a silk Italian suit that matched his hair. A black rose was pinned to his lapel under a silver name tag.**

"Who wants to bet Percy reads it wrong" all hands went up

Percy looked around "Really?!"

Hazel continued reading laughing as she read ahead a bit

**I read the name tag, then looked at him in bewilderment. "Your name is Chiron?"**

Everyone laughed or smiled at Percy, "Well since everyone voted against Percy we all win" Percy rolled his eyes.

Hades however was mentally groaning Charon was very annoying when it came to his name.

**He leaned across the desk. I couldn't see anything in his glasses except my own reflection, but his smile was sweet and cold, like a pythons, right before it eats you.**

"Pythons smile?" Hazel asked Percy giggling as Percy flushed a soft pink.

"I don't know I was just trying to give you a good picture of what it looked like, geez!" Percy huffed but he smiled at Hazel

**"What a precious young lad." He had a strange accent—British, maybe, but also as if he had learned English as a second language. "Tell me, mate, do I look like a centaur?"**

"Nope that would be weird a centaur grim reaper" Nico laughed out his odd imagination taking over

"Grim Reaper, but isn't that death?" Jason asked.

"Well yeah but when Charon ferries the dead across the river he gets this classic Reaper look"

**"N-no."**

**"Sir," he added smoothly.**

**"Sir," I said.**

Thalia gave a surprised whistle "Wow Percy's being obedient quick write it on a calendar it's a miracle!"

**He pinched the name tag and ran his finger under the letters. "Can you read this, mate? It says C-H****_-A-_****R-O-N. Say it with me: CARE-ON."**

**"Charon."**

**"Amazing! Now: ****_Mr. _****Charon."**

**"Mr. Charon," I said.**

"Doubly obedient, great now the world's going to end" Hazel added to Thalia's earlier statement

Percy scowled lightly at the two "oh shut it"

**"Well done." He sat back. "I ****_hate _****being confused with that old horse-man. And now, how may I help you little dead ones?"**

**His question caught in my stomach like a fastball. I looked at Annabeth for support.**

"Always look to Annabeth"

"Of course" Percy replied in a matter a fact voice. Athena smiled.

**"We want to go the Underworld," she said.**

"You'll need to do more than that to get in" Nico stated

**Charon's mouth twitched. "Well, that's refreshing."**

**"It is?" she asked.**

**"Straightforward and honest. No screaming. No 'There must be a mistake, Mr. Charon.' " He looked us over. "How did you die, then?"**

**I nudged Grover.**

**"Oh," he said. "Um ... drowned ... in the bathtub."**

Everyone burst into laughter except Hades who just looked amused and a few of the other gods because they were more serious about the whole death thing or they were sticks in the mud (*cough* Zeus *cough*).

**"All three of you?" Charon asked. We nodded.**

**"Big bathtub." Charon looked mildly impressed.**

Nico snorted "wow he believed that"

**_"_****I don't suppose you have coins for passage. Normally, with adults, you see, I could charge your American Express, or add the ferry price to your last cable bill. But with children ... alas, you never die prepared. Suppose you'll have to take a seat for a few centuries."**

The women looked saddened as they thought of the young dead children having to sit and wait because they couldn't pay. Hades looked a bit miffed, did they honestly think he was that heartless, jeez! Percy had just described what sort of spirits were in the waiting room none of which were children.

**"Oh, but we have coins." I set three golden drachmas on the counter, part of the stash I'd found in Crusty's office desk.**

"That could have worked except for the fact that their drachmas, now he's going to know you guys are demigods" Nico stated

"Yeah we didn't think about that" Percy responded Nico looked away and Percy sighed Thalia looked between the two in confusion 'what the heck was going on'

**"Well, now ..." Charon moistened his lips. "Real drachmas. Real golden drachmas. I haven't seen these in ..."**

**His fingers hovered greedily over the coins.**

**We were so close.**

"So close but so far away" Theseus teased his young half brother

**Then Charon looked at me. That cold stare behind his glasses seemed to bore a hole through my chest.**

"See told you it wouldn't work"

"Well it was worth a shot" Percy said shrugging "besides I had another plan up my sleeve just in case"

"Should have used that one first" Thalia stated Percy stuck his tongue out at her

**"Here now," he said. "You couldn't read my name correctly. Are you dyslexic, lad?"**

**"No," I said. "I'm dead."**

"Just because you're dead doesn't mean you can't read" Nico said forgetting about the silent treatment to throw Percy a weird look.

**Charon leaned forward and took a sniff. "You're not dead. I should've known. You're a godling."**

**"We have to get to the Underworld," I insisted.**

"Now comes plan B"

**Charon made a growling sound deep in his throat.**

**Immediately, all the people in the waiting room got up and started pacing, agitated, lighting cigarettes, running hands through their hair, or checking their wristwatches.**

"Chill out ghosties" Apollo said laughing everyone shot him an odd sort of look "What?" he asked and they shook their heads at him

**"Leave while you can," Charon told us. "I'll just take these and forget I saw you."**

"Yeah like that's gunna work" Hazel stated

**He started to go for the coins, but I snatched them back.**

**"No service, no tip." I tried to sound braver than I felt.**

Ares snorted wimp he thought to himself, Charon was as weak as they come.

**Charon growled again—a deep, blood-chilling sound. The spirits of the dead started pounding on the elevator doors.**

Hades rolled his eyes he hated when the spirits got all riled up because of Charon it made his work harder and more irritating

**"It's a shame, too," I sighed. "We had more to offer."**

"Bribery" Hermes and Apollo both sang

**I held up the entire bag from Crusty's stash. I took out a fistful of drachmas and let the coins spill through my fingers.**

Hermes and Apollo smiled at Percy giving him thumbs up; Percy smiled right back.

**Charon's growl changed into something more like a lion's purr. "Do you think I can be bought, godling?**

"Yes, yes we do" Perseus stated

**Eh ... just out of curiosity, how much have you got there?"**

"Just out of curiosity my…" Apollo was cut short when an arrow whizzed by and landed only a few centimeters from his head

"Language Apollo" Artemis scolded

"How do you know what I was going to say anyway" Apollo pouted at his sister who just rolled her eyes

**"A lot," I said. "I bet Hades doesn't pay you well enough for such hard work."**

Hades glared over at Percy, who shrugged, "Sorry uncle, but we needed to get in and I figured that might help persuade him" Hades glare didn't waiver and Percy gulped and looked at Hazel to keep reading. She took the hint.

**"Oh, you don't know the half of it. How would you like to babysit these spirits all day? Always 'Please don't let me be dead' or 'Please let me across for free.' I haven't had a pay raise in three thousand years. Do you imagine suits like this come cheap?"**

Hades glare momentarily switched from Percy onto the book

**"You deserve better," I agreed. "A little appreciation. Respect. Good pay."**

The glare went back to Percy except it had gotten increasingly more cold and violent looking. Percy whistled innocently not looking at his uncle.

**With each word, I stacked another gold coin on the counter.**

"You're really good at this cousin" Hermes said smiling appreciatively at the excellent display of bribery.

**Charon glanced down at his silk Italian jacket, as if imagining himself in something even better. "I must say, lad, you're making some sense now. Just a little."**

**I stacked another few coins. "I could mention a pay raise while I'm talking to Hades."**

Poseidon who had been laughing at Hades now sputtered and looked at his son "Hey now saying something to Charon is fine, but actually telling that to your uncle that's just crazy" Poseidon stated

Hades however was smirking "Yes I'd like to think about how it would turn out if you did say that"

Thalia rolled her eyes "Come on even Percy's not that stupid" Percy blushed pink, but no one noticed "I bet he just said that to get Charon to let him through"

**He sighed. "The boat's almost full, anyway. I might as well add you three and be off."**

"Some security system you have" Demeter teased Hades who in turn glared at her, but there was a small blush on his face. Knowing that she had gotten to him with her comment made her smile in triumph.

**He stood, scooped up our money, and said, "Come along."**

**We pushed through the crowd of waiting spirits, who started grabbing at our clothes like the wind, their voices whispering things I couldn't make out. Charon shoved them out of the way, grumbling, "Freeloaders."**

**He escorted us into the elevator, which was already crowded with souls of the dead, each one holding a green boarding pass. Charon grabbed two spirits who were trying to get on with us and pushed them back into the lobby.**

"Poor souls" Hestia sighed although she more than anyone saw what Hades had to put up with and she was sure that this look into his kingdom would open up a few eyes and ,she hoped, change things for the better. After all she loved her family; she just wished they could get along a bit better.

**"Right. Now, no one get any ideas while I'm gone," he announced to the waiting room. "And if anyone moves the dial off my easy-listening station again, I'll make sure you're here for another thousand years. Understand?"**

"I'm not surprised, an easy listening station sounds so boring I would change it too" Apollo stated "hmm maybe I'll liven it up a bit" he whispered to Hermes smirking. Him and Hermes high fived; the other gods looked at them wondering what they were planning. Hades was glaring as it must have something to do with his domain.

**He shut the doors. He put a key card into a slot in the elevator panel and we started to descend.**

**"What happens to the spirits waiting in the lobby?" Annabeth asked.**

"Nothing" Hades answered

**"Nothing," Charon said.**

His brothers laughed at Hades who rolled his eyes at their immaturity

**"For how long?"**

**"Forever, or until I'm feeling generous."**

"So like never" Jason stated "we've seen how greedy he is so I doubt he can be generous" Thalia had to agree it didn't look good for the waiting spirits.

**"Oh," she said. "That's ... fair."**

**Charon raised an eyebrow. "Whoever said death was fair, young miss? Wait until it's your turn. You'll die soon enough, where you're going."**

"Not a chance" Thalia said "it will take a whole lot more than that to kill them"

Percy smiled at Thalia they had survived through a lot and hopefully they would make it through this war too. But looking at where he and Annabeth had landed themselves his hopes weren't too high, in fact they were almost nonexistent.

**"We'll get out alive," I said.**

**"Ha."**

"Yee of little faith" Hermes said "obviously they get out just fine if there sitting right here"

"But Charon doesn't know that" Apollo stated Hermes shrugged

**I got a sudden dizzy feeling. We weren't going down anymore, but forward. The air turned misty. Spirits around me started changing shape. Their modern clothes flickered, turning into gray hooded robes.**

"Talk about dramatic" Hera said teasingly to Hades who rolled his eyes at her

"Look who your married to" he said back which in turn made Zeus glare at him.

** The floor of the elevator began swaying.**

"Not an elevator anymore" Nico said

"What do you mean?" Thalia and Jason both asked simultaneously

**I blinked hard. When I opened my eyes, Charon's creamy Italian suit had been replaced by a long black robe. His tortoiseshell glasses were gone. Where his eyes should've been were empty sockets—like Ares's eyes, except Charon's were totally dark, full of night and death and despair.**

**He saw me looking, and said, "Well?"**

**"Nothing," I managed.**

**I thought he was grinning, but that wasn't it. The flesh of his face was becoming transparent, letting me see straight through to his skull.**

Hazel shuddered for a moment going back to her time in the underworld even as a daughter of Pluto she was still terrified of going back to being dead

**The floor kept swaying.**

**Grover said, "I think I'm getting seasick."**

**When I blinked again, the elevator wasn't an elevator anymore. We were standing in a wooden barge. **

"Oh" Thalia and Jason nodded thinking back to Nico's comment about the elevator; it seemed rather obvious now that they thought about it.

**Charon was poling us across a dark, oily river, swirling with bones, dead fish, and other, stranger things—plastic dolls, crushed carnations, soggy diplomas with gilt edges.**

**"The River Styx," Annabeth murmured. "It's so ..."**

"Ewwww how gross" Aphrodite wrinkled her nose at the description

"It's not gross," Hestia whispered almost to herself "it's sad all those lost hopes and dreams."

**"Polluted," Charon said. "For thousands of years, you humans have been throwing in everything as you come across—hopes, dreams, wishes that never came true. Irresponsible waste management, if you ask me."**

Percy frowned, how many of his dead and lost dreams would end up in that river. If he were to die a lot he reasoned as he still had so much he wanted to do in the future and yet his future seemed so dark and for once he had almost no hope. If not for Annabeth he would have given up long before.

**Mist curled off the filthy water. Above us, almost lost in the gloom, was a ceiling of stalactites. Ahead, the far shore glimmered with greenish light, the color of poison.**

"Poison, really, of all the green things you could chose you go for poison"

"It's the underworld I think it's appropriate" Percy reasoned

**Panic closed up my throat. What was I doing here? These people around me ... they were dead.**

Hades smirked that was one of the first tests of the underworld if a hero didn't have a lot of will power they would be driven insane by this feeling of being surrounded by the dead.

**Annabeth grabbed hold of my hand.**

Aphrodite squealed and clapped in pure giddiness

**Under normal circumstances, this would've embarrassed me, but I understood how she felt. She wanted reassurance that somebody else was alive on this boat.**

Hades smirk turned into a frown, that was the one downside to said first test if you had someone with you who was also alive it negated the effect. It was funny how many people came to the underworld alone most heroes think it's a good idea to face him by themselves.

**I found myself muttering a prayer, though I wasn't quite sure who I was praying to. Down here, only one god mattered, and he was the one I had come to confront.**

Hades couldn't help but feel a bit egotistical when he read the boys thoughts; his sister Hestia shook her head at him and he flashed her a smile not a smirk but an actual smile! It was quickly gone from his face however, he only smiled for Hestia, his wife, Maria, and his children. Although, from how Nico acted it seemed in the future said smile was becoming even more rare than it already was.

**The shoreline of the Underworld came into view. Craggy rocks and black volcanic sand stretched inland about a hundred yards to the base of a high stone wall, which marched off in either direction as far as we could see. A sound came from somewhere nearby in the green gloom, echoing off the stones—the howl of a large animal.**

"Cerberus" Nico said then he remembered the title and his eyes widened a bit. Yes, it was true that Cerberus could be a bit of a softy, but he just couldn't see Annabeth trying to train him.

**"Old Three-Face is hungry," Charon said. His smile turned skeletal in the greenish light. "Bad luck for you, godlings."**

A few of the gods and all of the heroes leaned forward in anticipation; they all wanted to know how the three had managed to make it past said three headed dog.

**The bottom of our boat slid onto the black sand. The dead began to disembark. A woman holding a little girl's hand. An old man and an old woman hobbling along arm in arm. A boy no older than I was, shuffling silently along in his gray robe.**

Aphrodite and Hera looked sad when that was read; Hera for the mother and her child, and Aphrodite for the old man and woman with locked arms. Aphrodite loved people who lasted in love it made her happy and sad at the same time.

**Charon said, "I'd wish you luck, mate, but there isn't any down here. Mind you, don't forget to mention my pay raise."**

"It's ok Percy doesn't have luck" anyway Thalia stated so it doesn't make much of a difference

Poseidon was a bit worried about his son bringing up the pay raise to his brother, after all he seemed to have a loose tongue when it came to dealing with the gods. But then he remembered Thalia saying that even Percy wasn't that dumb and that lessened his worry just a bit.

**He counted our golden coins into his pouch, then took up his pole. He warbled something that sounded like a Barry Manilow song as he ferried the empty barge back across the river.**

"Ugh he really needs better taste in music" Thalia stated Percy agreed

**We followed the spirits up a well-worn path.**

**I'm not sure what I was expecting—Pearly Gates,**

Everyone turned to look at Percy with a 'really' look

"You just described the color of the underworld as poison green and you were expecting pearly gates?!"

"I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't something so… ordinary"

"What do you mean?" Jason questioned

Hazel continued reading to answer Jason's question

**or a big black portcullis, or something. But the entrance to the Underworld looked like a cross between airport security and the Jersey Turnpike.**

"Oh yeah I can see what you mean" Jason reasoned surprising himself by actually agreeing with Jackson on something

"What's that?" Theseus asked

"Umm…" Percy looked to Thalia not knowing exactly how to describe it.

Thalia quickly described it the best way she could. Theseus nodded getting the gist and explained it better for Orion and Perseus and Hercules who were all still confused.

**There were three separate entrances under one huge black archway that said YOU ARE NOW ENTERING EREBUS. Each entrance had a pass-through metal detector with security cameras mounted on top. Beyond this were tollbooths manned by black-robed ghouls like Charon.**

"How did you get through that" Perseus asked

"First they have to get past Cerberus" Theseus reminded him

"Right I almost forgot about that"

**The howling of the hungry animal was really loud now, but I couldn't see where it was coming from. The three-headed dog, Cerberus, who was supposed to guard Hades's door, was nowhere to be seen.**

Hades smirked, Cerberus was much like the dead hard to see but just as real and deadly as any monster it was what made him just that much more dangerous.

**The dead queued up in the three lines, two marked ATTENDANT ON DUTY, and one marked EZ DEATH. The EZ DEATH line was moving right along. The other two were crawling.**

**"What do you figure?" I asked Annabeth.**

**"The fast line must go straight to the Asphodel Fields," she said. "No contest. They don't want to risk judgment from the court, because it might go against them."**

"Those cowards" Nico said

Hades agreed "Yes they are, but I can only imagine the back up if there was no EZ death line it's why I made it in the first place"

**"There's a court for dead people?"**

"Of course. How did you think someone got sentenced to the fields of punishment?"

"I don't know I never thought about it before it just seemed so surreal"

**"Yeah. Three judges. They switch around who sits on the bench. King Minos,**

Nico glared, Percy tried to put a hand on Nico's shoulder for comfort but Nico shrugged his hand off and Percy frowned at Nico sighing in frustration.

**Thomas Jefferson, Shakespeare—people like that. Sometimes they look at a life and decide that person needs a special reward—the Fields of Elysium. Sometimes they decide on punishment. But most people, well, they just lived. Nothing special, good or bad. So they go to the Asphodel Fields."**

Percy knew as heroes that they were mostly guaranteed Elysium but for normal people it just didn't seem fair, I mean for living an ordinary life you get stuck in a giant field how boring.

**"And do what?"**

**Grover said, "Imagine standing in a wheat field in Kansas. Forever."**

Demeter sighed "well it could be worse wheat fields are actually very nice"

**"Harsh," I said.**

Demeter gave Percy a sour look "I liked you better when you were little" Percy opened his mouth to respond but Thalia and Hazel both elbowed him at once and he glared at them, and while he was rubbing his sides Hazel began reading not giving Percy the chance to recover and say something stupid.

**"Not as harsh as that," Grover muttered. "Look."**

"Fields of punishment definitely more harsh than wheat fields" Hermes stated ignoring Demeter's cross look

**A couple of black-robbed ghouls had pulled aside one spirit and were frisking him at the security desk. The face of the dead man looked vaguely familiar.**

Poseidon looked at his son in concern how would he know someone going to the fields of punishment well besides Gabe

**"He's that preacher who made the news, remember?" Grover asked.**

Poseidon sighed in relief; good for a moment he was worried about who Percy was being raised around

**"Oh, yeah." I did remember now. We'd seen him on TV a couple of times at the Yancy Academy dorm. He was this annoying televangelist from upstate New York who'd raised millions of dollars for orphanages and then got caught spending the money on stuff for his mansion, like gold-plated toilet seats, and an indoor putt-putt golf course. He'd died in a police chase when his "Lamborghini for the Lord" went off a cliff.**

Hestia's eyes went dark such a fowl man she thought to herself

"Men are despicable" Artemis said. The men in the room looked offended

**I said, "What're they doing to him?"**

**"Special punishment from Hades," Grover guessed. "The really bad people get his personal attention as soon as they arrive. The Fur—the Kindly Ones will set up an eternal torture for him."**

"Good he deserves it" Hestia stated harshly the gods and demigods of the future looked at her in shock she was always so nice it was weird seeing her being malicious. But they couldn't blame her the guy was definitely low.

**The thought of the Furies made me shudder. I realized I was in their home territory now. Old Mrs. Dodds would be licking her lips with anticipation.**

Percy shook his head with slight fondness Mrs. Dodds to him represented simpler times when things weren't so complicated and the future didn't seem so dark

**"But if he's a preacher," I said, "and he believes in a different hell..."**

**Grover shrugged. "Who says he's seeing this place the way we're seeing it? Humans see what they want to see. You're very stubborn—er, persistent, that way."**

"It kind of makes me want to see through a normal person eyes just to see what they picture it as"

**We got closer to the gates. The howling was so loud now it shook the ground at my feet, but I still couldn't figure out where it was coming from.**

"How can he not notice the giant three headed dog when it seems that close" Orion asked in confusion

**Then, about fifty feet in front of us, the green mist shimmered. Standing just where the path split into three lanes was an enormous shadowy monster.**

"Shadowy?" Perseus felt slightly confused how could a giant three headed dog be shadowy? Was it just the mist affecting the young heroes or was it something else? Before he could figure it out he was pulled out of his thoughts as Hazel continued to read

**I hadn't seen it before because it was half transparent, like the dead. Until it moved, it blended with whatever was behind it. Only its eyes and teeth looked solid. And it was staring straight at me.**

**My jaw hung open. All I could think to say was, "He's a Rottweiler."**

"Really Percy you see a giant three headed dog and that's what you comment on"

"I don't know, I'm with Perce on this one I kind of pictured him as a more dark and scary breed like a…a…"

**I'd always imagined Cerberus as a big black mastiff. **

Hazel read on

"Yes like that" Thalia said agreeing with Percy

**But he was obviously a purebred Rottweiler, except of course that he was twice the size of a woolly mammoth, mostly invisible, and had three heads.**

"And out of all that your still stuck on the breed, honestly" Athena stated rolling her eyes at the young hero in front of her

**The dead walked right up to him—no fear at all. The ATTENDANT ON DUTY lines parted on either side of him. The EZ DEATH spirits walked right between his front paws and under his belly, which they could do without even crouching.**

**"I'm starting to see him better," I muttered. "Why is that?"**

**"I think ..." Annabeth moistened her lips. "I'm afraid it's because we're getting closer to being dead."**

Athena and Poseidon both shuddered not liking where this was leading to

**The dog's middle head craned toward us. It sniffed the air and growled.**

"It can smell the living," Hades stated.

**"It can smell the living," I said.**

Hades looked peeved at saying something the same as the boy especially now as he had noticed his son was looking rather angry with the hero

**"But that's okay," Grover said, trembling next to me. "Because we have a plan."**

**"Right," Annabeth said. I'd never heard her voice sound quite so small. "A plan."**

"If Annabeth's nervous about the plan it must be Percy's" Thalia stated smiling

"Hey I was on the right track; I just wasn't completely right" Percy stated but his face was bright red and in truth he wanted to hide as he thought of how miserably his plan had failed.

**We moved toward the monster.**

**The middle head snarled at us, then barked so loud my eyeballs rattled.**

"Your eyeballs rattled?" Hazel asked looking at the book weirdly.

**"Can you understand it?" I asked Grover.**

**"Oh yeah," he said. "I can understand it."**

**"What's it saying?"**

**"I don't think humans have a four-letter word that translates, exactly."**

"I wish I could understand animals I always find it fascinating when people or satyrs translate" Hazel said sighing

"It's not all its cut out to be, especially when it comes to horses"

"Really why?"

"Well they curse a lot, and I mean a lot its actually where half of my more colorful vocabulary comes from" Percy said smiling slightly "and don't look at me lie that Thalia its true" he stated when Thalia shot him a disbelieving look

**I took the big stick out of my backpack—a bedpost I'd broken off Crusty's Safari Deluxe floor model. I held it up, and tried to channel happy dog thoughts toward Cerberus—Alpo commercials, cute little puppies, fire hydrants. I tried to smile, like I wasn't about to die.**

Nico snorted "well that would have been fine and all if you would have been more confident. If you show even the slightest bit of fear Cerberus won't listen to you at all"

**"Hey, Big Fella," I called up. "I bet they don't play with you much."**

"Nope they didn't but I do now"

"You play with him?!" the heroes of old echoed eyebrows raised

"Of course, poor guy, even he needs someone to play with. Besides deep down he's really very soft"

"Ok" Perseus said doubtfully slightly worried for the boy's sanity

**"GROWWWLLLL!"**

**"Good boy," I said weakly.**

"Yeah I can tell this plans going to fail" Nico said Percy was trying to hide his face behind Thalia he was so embarrassed.

**I waved the stick. The dog's middle head followed the movement. The other two heads trained their eyes on me, completely ignoring the spirits. I had Cerberus's undivided attention. I wasn't sure that was a good thing.**

"I would say not a good thing" Hermes stated

"I agree" Apollo nodded along with Hermes statement

**"Fetch!" I threw the stick into the gloom, a good solid throw. I heard it go ker-sploosh in the River Styx. **(I don't know about you guys but when I first read this scene I cringed at the utter failure it turned out to be. :))

"Nicely done Percy, good job" Percy was tomato red

"So what's plan b" Jason asked speaking up in the light of Percy's latest embarrassment, but to his own shock he asked calmly, not maliciously or in a condescending tone which he had come to use when addressing Jackson.

"Umm there was no plan b"

"What? Having a plan b is essential! How did you survive this long with that kind of strategy?!" Jason asked in shock.

"Well my plans normally go horribly wrong as you can see so normally I just make it up as I go along and that seems to work for the most part; I mean I'm still alive"

"That in itself is a miracle" Jason stated

"You know maybe that's why you guys would work so well together" Hazel offered up

"What do you mean?" Jason asked

"Well Jason you plan in advanced and make sure you have plenty of back up plans so if you plan and then Percy improvises when things don't go completely to plan then you guys could be almost unstoppable"

Percy nodded he knew that him and Jason could be good allies in a fight they had already proved that when facing the giants.

Jason was thinking hard, he hadn't really ever thought of it that way after all he had only thought of him and Percy as being against each other maybe because he had thought all Greek's were glory hungry beings, but then his time in the camp had shown him he was wrong. So then why did he think Percy was that way? Jason thought to himself hmm he would have to think on that later he told himself and began to pay more attention to Hazel as she continued to read.

**Cerberus glared at me, unimpressed. His eyes were baleful and cold.**

**So much for the plan.**

"By this point even you don't seem surprised that your plan failed "

**Cerberus was now making a new kind of growl, deeper down in his three throats.**

"I wonder what he's thinking now" Hazel wondered

"If you read you won't have to wonder at all" Percy commented

**"Um," Grover said. "Percy?"**

**"Yeah?"**

**"I just thought you'd want to know."**

**"Yeah?"**

**"Cerberus? He's saying we've got ten seconds to pray to the god of our choice. After that... well ... he's hungry."**

"Hmm well at least he's giving you ten seconds"

"Thank you Hazel for your overwhelming concern"

"You're welcome" Hazel said smiling at Percy

**"Wait!" Annabeth said. She started rifling through her pack.**

"Good Annabeth get them out of this mess" Thalia cheered

**Uh-oh, I thought.**

**"Five seconds," Grover said. "Do we run now?"**

"No running's not a good idea"

"What do you want them to do fight" Theseus asked in concern

"Yes" Ares stated wanting a good fight

"No even worse"

"So what are they supposed to do" Orion asked

"Pray Annabeth's plan actually works"

Athena had complete faith in her daughter but she still worried

**Annabeth produced a red rubber ball the size of a grapefruit. It was labeled WATERLAND, DENVER, CO.**

"I wonder why she picked up a rubber ball to start with" Thalia questioned

Percy shrugged "I'm not complaining"

**Before I could stop her, she raised the ball and marched straight up to Cerberus.**

**She shouted, "See the ball? You want the ball, Cerberus? Sit!"**

Everyone in the throne room besides Percy was momentarily shocked

"She's not trying what I think she is, is she?" Apollo asked

"I think that's exactly what she's trying" Hermes confirmed

Athena smiled "as long as she stays firm it should work" she said proudly

**Cerberus looked as stunned as we were.**

**All three of his heads cocked sideways. Six nostrils dilated.**

**"Sit!" Annabeth called again.**

Athena's hands gripped the throne "stay firm" Athena whispered to herself a bit nervous for her daughter

**I was sure that any moment she would become the world's largest Milkbone dog biscuit.**

"Have faith in her" Athena stated

"Don't worry I do" Percy replied

**But instead, Cerberus licked his three sets of lips, shifted on his haunches, and sat,**  
**immediately crushing a dozen spirits who'd been passing underneath him in the EZ DEATH line. The spirits made muffled hisses as they dissipated, like the air let out of tires.**

Hermes and Apollo both busted out into laughter as they imagined the scene "poor dead people bet they didn't see that coming" Apollo laughed

"What will happen to the spirits?" Jason asked

"They'll eventually reform unfortunately they'll have to go to the back of the line when that happens"

Percy winced remembering how long the line was, oops he thought

"Their fault for choosing EZ death" Nico said shrugging

**Annabeth said, "Good boy!"**

**She threw Cerberus the ball.**

**He caught it in his middle mouth. It was barely big enough for him to chew, and the other heads started snap ping at the middle, trying to get the new toy.**

**"Drop it.'" Annabeth ordered.**

"She's crazy" Apollo stage whispered to Hermes. Percy threw a glare their way, Annabeth was nowhere near crazy; brilliant yes, crazy no.

**Cerberus's heads stopped fighting and looked at her. The ball was wedged between two of his teeth like a tiny piece of gum. He made a loud, scary whimper, then dropped the ball, now slimy and bitten nearly in half, at Annabeth's feet.**

"Aww" Aphrodite squealed she just loved little puppies as long as they didn't slobber on her and right now she was just picturing Cerberus as a super cute little puppy.

**"Good boy." She picked up the ball, ignoring the monster spit all over it.**

Aphrodite's awes turned into eews at that sentence

**She turned toward us. "Go now. EZ DEATH line—it's faster."**

**I said, "But—"**

**"Now.'" She ordered, in the same tone she was using on the dog.**

Thalia snorted and Artemis looked thoughtful Annabeth would make a very good addition to the hunt

**Grover and I inched forward warily.**

**Cerberus started to growl.**

**"Stay!" Annabeth ordered the monster. "If you want the ball, stay!"**

**Cerberus whimpered, but he stayed where he was.**

Nico smiled "she's pretty good I wonder where she learned that"

Theseus and the others had to acknowledge that Nico had been right about Cerberus if you handled him in the right way he wasn't all that scary

**"What about you?" I asked Annabeth as we passed her.**

Aphrodite smiled in delight thinking how great their love life would be

**"I know what I'm doing, Percy," she muttered. "At least, I'm pretty sure... ."**

**Grover and I walked between the monster's legs.**

**Please, Annabeth, I prayed. Don't tell him to sit again.**

"She's not stupid" Athena stated

"I know that but in case you haven't noticed I'm a bit of a pessimist so I couldn't help but think of the worst case scenario"

"Which was getting sat on rather than eaten" Theseus asked his brother. Percy shrugged and Theseus shook his head sometimes his half-brother's thoughts worried Theseus

**We made it through. Cerberus wasn't any less scary-looking from the back.**

**Annabeth said, "Good dog!"**

**She held up the tattered red ball, and probably came to the same conclusion I did—if she rewarded Cerberus, there'd be nothing left for another trick.**

"If she gets through fast enough she should be fine" Athena reasoned

**She threw the ball anyway. The monster's left mouth immediately snatched it up, only to be attacked by the middle head, while the right head moaned in protest.**

**While the monster was distracted, Annabeth walked briskly under its belly and joined us at the metal detector.**

Athena nodded as if to say 'see'

**"How did you do that?" I asked her, amazed.**

"That's what we're all wondering" Hermes stated

**"Obedience school," she said breathlessly, and I was surprised to see there were tears in her eyes.**

Thalia looked saddened at hearing that, her good mood disapperating (Harry Potter term lol didn't noticed I'd used this until I spell checked then I decided to just keep it.)

**"When I was little, at my dad's house, we had a Doberman... ."**

Thalia sighed it was a good thing Annabeth had met Percy without him she probably would have never given her father a second chance

**"Never mind that," Grover said, tugging at my shirt. "Come on!"**

**We were about to bolt through the EZ DEATH line when Cerberus moaned pitifully from all three mouths. Annabeth stopped.**

Hazel looked sad "Poor dog he misses his friend"

**She turned to face the dog, which had done a one-eighty to look at us.**

**Cerberus panted expectantly, the tiny red ball in pieces in a puddle of drool at its feet.**

**"Good boy," Annabeth said, but her voice sounded melancholy and uncertain.**

"Poor Annabeth" Hazel stated knowing it would have been just as hard on her having to walk away from such a pitiful scene.

**The monster's heads turned sideways, as if worried about her.**

Hades was slightly irritated really his giant attack dog was now worried about an 11 (it is 11 isn't it or is it 12?) year old girl

**"I'll bring you another ball soon," Annabeth promised faintly. "Would you like that?"** **The monster whimpered. I didn't need to speak dog to know Cerberus was still waiting for the ball.**

**"Good dog. I'll come visit you soon. I—I promise." Annabeth turned to us. "Let's go."**

"Did she?" Hazel asked

Percy shook his head "We weren't exactly welcome back after this visit" he said

"Not that it stopped you" Nico said without looking at his cousin

**Grover and I pushed through the metal detector, which immediately screamed and set off flashing red lights. "Unauthorized possessions! Magic detected!"**

"Great" Poseidon stated rubbing the bridge of his nose

**Cerberus started to bark.**

**We burst through the EZ DEATH gate, which started even more alarms blaring, and raced into the Underworld.**

**A few minutes later, we were hiding, out of breath, in the rotten trunk of an immense black tree as security ghouls scuttled past, yelling for backup from the Furies.**

"Wow brother you need better guards" Hera stated

"No! No he doesn't" Poseidon said "at least not until my son's already gone through this, no need to make it harder for him."

Percy smiled at his father

**Grover murmured, "Well, Percy, what have we learned today?"**

"That Annabeth had a Doberman"

"How to get past Cerberus in case you have to go back down there for some reason"

**"That three-headed dogs prefer red rubber balls over sticks?"**

"That too" Orion laughed

**"No," Grover told me. "We've learned that your plans really, really bite!"**

The demigods laughed and the gods looked amused Percy tried to look upset but he couldn't help a small smile that formed on his lips

**I wasn't sure about that. I thought maybe Annabeth and I had both had the right idea. Even here in the Underworld, everybody—even monsters—needed a little attention once in a while.**

"I'm glad he has you" Hazel said to her brother. Nico smiled at his sister.

**I thought about that as we waited for the ghouls to pass. I pretended not to see Annabeth wipe a tear from her cheek as she listened to the mournful keening of Cerberus in the distance, longing for his new friend.**

"Aww" many of the females couldn't help the small sound escape from their lips.

Hazel looked up from the book "ok who wants to read next?"

"I will" Thalia said taking the book from her and turning the page to start the next chapter.

AN: Ok that chapters done, about time! I hope the next chapter doesn't give me as much trouble as this one did. I'm not entirely sure how this chapter turned out because I wasn't as enthusiastic about it after writing it so many times over, so I'm sorry if it's not that great. However, please please review and know I've already started on the next chapter! And thank you again to all you reviewers and readers for sticking with me I know how frustrating it is when an author doesn't update so thanks again you guys are amazing :)


	26. Chapter 26

AN: Hey guys what's up I'm sorry I've been out of touch, I fixed my computer problems just in time for finals! I had 8 finals in 2 weeks and 6 of them were biology tests which is my major so I had to put everything on hold to study my butt off. Cross your fingers for me I really need to pass those classes. Also just a heads up Its summer, but I'm going to be working 2 jobs so I won't promise I'll update a lot but I'll do my best. Ok now enough of me onto the story.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except for the not bolded storyline :)

"**We Find out the Truth, Sort of," **Thalia read

Athena straightened up she was looking forward to finally getting all the pieces of the story the blank spots in her theory. And she wasn't the only one a lot of the gods were looking incredibly more interested

**Imagine the largest concert crowd you've ever seen, a football field packed with a million fans.**

"Green Day concert" Thalia stated

"No even better MCR concert" Nico corrected

"Both of you are wrong it would be a Simple Plan concert" (I can see Percy liking them and 30 Seconds to Mars as well) (his perfect song would be This is War does anyone out there agree)

Hazel who sensed an argument quickly stated "or it's a concert with all three"

The three looked at each other "coolest concert ever" they said simultaneously. Everyone else rolled their eyes. Thalia laughed with her cousins frowning only slightly when she noticed Nico look at Percy only to stop laughing and turn away. Percy looked slightly hurt then noticed her gaze and smiled, Thalia wanted to ask but then realized everyone was waiting for her to continue so she stored the info in the back of her mind for later.

**Now imagine a field a million times that big, packed with people, and imagine the electricity has gone out, and there is no noise, no light, no beach ball bouncing around over the crowd. Something tragic has happened backstage. Whispering masses of people are just milling around in the shadows, waiting for a concert that will never start.**

"Yeah excluding all the angry people yelling and throwing things and the dumb drunk people" Percy stated

"You've been to a concert" Thalia asked

"No I'm poor but I used to go to a private school and rich people never shut up"

"Don't let Rachel here you say that" Thalia said Percy paled a bit thinking of the red heads temper

**If you can picture that, you have a pretty good idea what the Fields of Asphodel looked like. The black grass had been trampled by eons of dead feet. A warm, moist wind blew like the breath of a swamp. Black trees—Grover told me they were poplars—grew in clumps here and there.**

Hazel shivered remembering her recent time in said place

Nico reached over and squeezed her hand and Percy nudged her to let her know he understood. Hazel smiled she had such amazing friends and she was so grateful

**The cavern ceiling was so high above us it might've been a bank of storm clouds, except for the stalactites, which glowed faint gray and looked wickedly pointed. I tried not to imagine they'd fall on us at any moment, but dotted around the fields were several that had fallen and impaled themselves in the black grass. I guess the dead didn't have to worry about little hazards like being speared by stalactites the size of booster rockets.**

**Annabeth, Grover, and I tried to blend into the crowd, keeping an eye out for security ghouls. I couldn't help looking for familiar faces among the spirits of Asphodel, **

"Did you know anyone who had died?"

Percy looked a bit sad "I did actually"

"What? Who?!" the gods all looked at Percy especially Poseidon

"When I was 10 I knew this boy he was great and my best friend, but he was bullied a lot and although I tried I couldn't protect him from everything and one time… well I was sick and I wasn't there for just one day." Percy trailed off since then he'd lost so many people especially after finding out he was a demigod but it didn't lesson the sting of not having been there for his best friend and he had a terribly guilty conscious so even though he had made his peace with what had happened he would always remember him just as he did with all the heroes who had died in the last war.

"I'm sorry Percy"

"It's ok I've made my peace with it"

"That's a very wise move" Athena stated nodding in appreciation

Thalia stared at Percy there was so much none of them new about each others pasts

**but the dead are hard to look at. Their faces shimmer. They all look slightly angry or confused. They will come up to you and speak, but their voices sound like chatter, like bats twittering. Once they realize you can't understand them, they frown and move away.**

**The dead aren't scary.**

Hades and Nico both looked at Percy he was one of the only people who had ever said that. Hades regarded the hero with a new sort of fascination Nico looked at Percy and looked away it shouldn't have surprised him Percy was a good person. Grr why did he have to be a good person? All he wanted to do was have a reason to yell at Percy but he made it so difficult sometimes.

The old heroes looked at Percy maybe it was because they were from the past but death was always a foreboding subject

** They're just sad.**

Hades couldn't help but nod they were not many people who noticed that especially the children of his idiot little brothers

**We crept along, following the line of new arrivals that snaked from the main gates toward a black-tented pavilion with a banner that read:**

**_JUDGMENTS FOR ELYSIUM AND ETERNAL DAMNATION_**

**_Welcome, Newly Deceased!_**

Apollo and Hermes laughed

**Out the back of the tent came two much smaller lines.**

"The fields of punishment and Elysium" Nico stated

**To the left, spirits flanked by security ghouls were marched down a rocky path toward the Fields of Punishment, which glowed and smoked in the distance, a vast, cracked wasteland with rivers of lava and minefields and miles of barbed wire separating the different torture areas. Even from far away, I could see people being chased by hellhounds, burned at the stake, forced to run naked through cactus patches or listen to opera music. **

"The opera music one doesn't sound too bad" Hermes stated

Hades smirked "would you like to try it"

"Don't do it" Apollo warned "I'm the god of music and opera music was an experiment gone terribly wrong"

**I could just make out a tiny hill, with the ant-size figure of Sisyphus struggling to move his boulder to the top. And I saw worse tortures, too—things I don't want to describe.**

"Of course if all my torture were that easy I would be a laughing stock"

'Easy' Percy mouthed to his friends. Perseus, Theseus, and Orion all laughed having caught Percy's facial expression and mouthed words

**The line coming from the right side of the judgment pavilion was much better. This one led down toward a small valley surrounded by walls—a gated community, which seemed to be the only happy part of the Underworld. Beyond the security gate were neighborhoods of beautiful houses from every time period in history, Roman villas and medieval castles and Victorian mansions. Silver and gold flowers bloomed on the lawns. The grass rippled in rainbow colors. I could hear laughter and smell barbecue cooking.**

Everyone smiled just hearing about it. Percy smiled knowing that that was where his friends he lost rested and that they were happy and together

**Elysium.**

The demigods all looked content that was a heroes place

**In the middle of that valley was a glittering blue lake, with three small islands like a vacation resort in the Bahamas. The Isles of the Blest, for people who had chosen to be reborn three times, and three times achieved Elysium. Immediately I knew that's where I wanted to go when I died.**

"You would have bigger goals than just Elysium" Theseus stated smiling

If anyone could make it there it would be Percy of that hazel was sure

**"That's what it's all about," Annabeth said, like she was reading my thoughts. "That's the place for heroes."**

"Annabeth's like Percy always going for the big goals"

"Come on don't act like you've never wanted to end up there either" Percy said back the other demigods were silent it was true, but then who didn't want to end up in the isle of the blest. But once you live a demigod life afterword well it's hard to choose rebirth; after all, you've already been through one incredibly hard life and all most demigods wanted to do was go to Elysium and see their friends and lost comrades or in some cases loves. However, there were those few heroes who didn't have to be reborn to get to the isles of the blest sometimes if a demigod did something so great then he would be able to go straight there, but that was very rare. Hercules almost got it, but because he wasn't of the…well...moral standings; so he had instead been offered god hood. Perseus was a hero known for going straight there but of course he didn't know that as of now.

**But I thought of how few people there were in Elysium, how tiny it was compared to the Fields of Asphodel or even the Fields of Punishment. So few people did good in their lives. It was depressing.**

Hestia smiled sadly "how true" she said everyone else nodded along and the atmosphere dropped

**We left the judgment pavilion and moved deeper into the Asphodel Fields. It got darker. The colors faded from our clothes. The crowds of chattering spirits began to thin.**

Demeter shivered knowing that was where her dear daughter was living

**After a few miles of walking, we began to hear a familiar screech in the distance. Looming on the horizon was a palace of glittering black obsidian.**

Hades smiled his palace may seem dark to others but it was his home, his piece of Olympus. And with his beautiful wife and children he was proud of it. Now if only he could keep his lovely Maria safe not that he'd tell that to Persephone or Demeter he knew he shouldn't; after all he did love his wife there was just something about Maria and he couldn't let her go quite yet even if it was foolish on his part. He was shaken from his thoughts as Thalia continued to read

** Above the parapets swirled three dark batlike creatures: the Furies. I got the feeling they were waiting for us.**

"Yeah seeing as Percy killed them all at least once I'm sure they are thrilled about you being so close"

"Gee thanks that makes me feel so much better"

**"I suppose it's too late to turn back," Grover said wistfully.**

"You think" Thalia snorted

**"We'll be okay." I tried to sound confident.**

**"Maybe we should search some of the other places first," Grover suggested. "Like, Elysium, for instance …"**

"Well it was worth a try" Jason laughed along with the other heroes

**"Come on, goat boy." Annabeth grabbed his arm.**

**Grover yelped. His sneakers sprouted wings and his legs shot forward, pulling him away from Annabeth. He landed flat on his back in the grass.**

"That's not supposed to happen" Hermes said looking confused

**"Grover," Annabeth chided. "Stop messing around."**

"He didn't even say Maia though" Theseus observed

"Maia" Hermes said as his shoes responded to Theseus word

"Sorry" Theseus bowed his head; Hermes waved him off and gestured to Thalia to keep reading he wanted to know what was happening with his shoes

**"But I didn't—"**

**He yelped again. His shoes were flapping like crazy now. They levitated off the ground and started dragging him away from us.**

"That doesn't sound good" Apollo stated

**_"Maia!" _****he yelled, but the magic word seemed to have no effect. ****_"Maia, _****already! Nine-one-one! Help!"**

Everyone laughed the tension in the room breaking as Hermes had to shout Maia multiple times as his shoes reacted with Grover's yelling

**I got over being stunned and made a grab for Grover's hand, but too late. He was picking up speed, skidding downhill like a bobsled.**

**We ran after him.**

**Annabeth shouted, "Untie the shoes!"**

"Easier said than done if he's being dragged by his feet" Nico commented

**It was a smart idea, but I guess it's not so easy when your shoes are pulling you along feet first at full speed. Grover tried to sit up, but he couldn't get close to the laces.**

Nico smiled proudly and Percy wanted to snort as he saw that. Somehow that proud look made Nico look like that 10 year old boy with no worries

**We kept after him, trying to keep him in sight as he ripped between the legs of spirits who chattered at him in annoyance.**

**I was sure Grover was going to barrel straight through the gates of Hades's palace, but his shoes veered sharply to the right and dragged him in the opposite direction.**

Hades sat up straight there was only one place to the right of his palace and it was not a good place

**The slope got steeper. Grover picked up speed. Annabeth and I had to sprint to keep up. The cavern walls narrowed on either side, and I realized we'd entered some kind of side tunnel. No black grass or trees now, just rock underfoot, and the dim light of the stalactites above.**

"What's it leading to" Theseus wondered aloud

"Not anywhere good" Percy replied hades had to agree with the boy and the atmosphere became tense once more

**"Grover!" I yelled, my voice echoing. "Hold on to something!"**

**"What?" he yelled back.**

**He was grabbing at gravel, but there was nothing big enough to slow him down.**

Perseus cursed and everyone held their breath not knowing what was going to happen

**The tunnel got darker and colder. The hairs on my arms bristled. It smelled evil down here. It made me think of things I shouldn't even know about—blood spilled on an ancient stone altar, the foul breath of a murderer.**

The gods shifted uneasily and the heroes all looked disgusted the golden ages the worst times full of desolation and murder. The gods were only a part of the end of the era and still they remembered that it was nothing but bloodshed the room seemed colder at just the mention of those times

**Then I saw what was ahead of us, and I stopped dead in my tracks.**

"No keep going, keep going, keep running you have to catch Grover" Thalia urged forgetting in the seriousness of the moment that Grover was safe and had obviously made it out

**The tunnel widened into a huge dark cavern, and in the middle was a chasm the size of a city block.**

Percy's body froze a bit and he shivered remembering the unearthly pull that had seemed to take everything close to it and pull it into the darkness the pull had been so strong in that moment with Annabeth that it had seemed to have latched onto his very soul freezing it with fear and dread

**Grover was sliding straight toward the edge.**

"Grab him" hazels small yelp cleared Percy of his small flash back he looked at hazel and smiled letting her know it would be ok. Hazel blushed she hadn't meant to yell out like that; just showed what a good book could do besides she had no clue Percy had been through all of this and there were still plenty more books to go it was incredible

**"Come on, Percy!" Annabeth yelled, tugging at my wrist.**

**"But that's—"**

"Tartarus" hades said the room grew colder. "The most desolate and dark place on this earth it is nothing but darkness and cold and when you are down there it is said to strip any humanity from you and leave you as an empty shell of despair of course that only happens if you're a human or half human and it is but a legend after all no demigod has ever lived to tell the tale once they go down there"

"Yes well it's a very accurate description however it's not quite so merciful" Percy whispered under his breathe however Nico who had been watching Percy as he saw him sort of tense read Percy's lips he stared at Percy the pieces sliding together in his mind he shook his head unable to grasp what his mind was telling him.

"Nico are you alright"

Nico snapped his head over to stare at Thalia but he just shook his head "No I… I need to talk to Percy please just real fast we won't be long" he stood up and motioned for Percy to follow

"Come Nico lets finish the chapter"

"We can talk alone or I can let loose right here I know you don't want that Percy" Percy looked at Nico as if trying to figure out if he was serious and how much he had guessed at. Nico looked dead serious and Percy stood. Theseus and Orion got up also; Nico glared at them and they froze who knew a boy much younger than them could instill so much ferocity into a glare. Percy nodded his head at them and they got the message 'stay here and make sure no one listens in' they sat back down and Percy walked out with Nico everyone stared after the two confused, what had just happened?

Percy had his back to Nico "what is it?" his tone was clipped and harsher then he meant it to be, but he really did not want to be having this conversation

"You're in Tartarus" Nico had meant to sound strong but his voice wavered. Percy said nothing and Nico looked pained "why didn't you tell me"

"There's nothing you can do about it Nico"

"How?"

"What?"

"How did it happen?"

"I can't say"

"Percy"

"Look the fates said we couldn't share our stories, that's something I can't share"

"Then let me help you now, tell me about what it's like"

"There's nothing to tell; it's like it won't let me speak of it"

"It?"

"Tartarus isn't just a place Nico, its alive, a deity like Gaia"

"Wow that's smart for you"

"It wasn't me who knew it"

"Annabeth" Nico said automatically knowing that's who provided Percy with his info. Then he stopped "she's down there with you"

"It's a long story"

"Is what my dad said true?"

"Not completely do I look like a shell of despair" Percy turned around to face Nico

"No but your different you're a shell of the old you and you keep hiding it hoping no one here will notice"

"No one can do anything about it Nico when this is over I'm going back to that place and nothing can stop that. Why worry them when they can't do anything. It's better not knowing, then being completely helpless"

"Is it?"

"It is for me"

"You know we may not be able to stop you from going back, but we can help you while you're here. We're not helpless Percy were your friends and were heroes too you know you're not the only one out there suffering we all need each other to stay sane your no different than us, no better!"

"I don't think that I am"

"Then stop acting like it"

"I'm not trying to. You just don't get it"

"Then help me understand"

"Nico the future is bad and it's getting worse not better I've seen you at the verge of death and insanity and I don't want to see that again because it's my job to protect you"

"No it isn't I'm not a child and I'm definitely no slouch!" Nico said angrily he pulled out his sword

"Nico I'm not going to fight you"

"Why not afraid you'll lose"

"You know I won't"

"Then fight me let me prove to you I'm strong enough"

"I know your strong enough Nico; it's just me wanting to save everyone I care about"

"But you don't have to, that's what I'm trying to say, you don't have to do this alone Percy you don't have to fight this war all by yourself you know"

"I wasn't…"

"I'm making a point shut up and listen" Nico raised his sword and Percy raised his hands up in surrender Nico took that as a sign to continue "Percy you've been through one war you know how it is. It doesn't matter how much you try people die, its collateral damage and this war isn't any different. Percy we got lucky last time and managed to survive but this is a whole different ball park we're all in the thick of this war and up against creatures that can't die unless a god helps us out. We're not all going to make it and you can't save us all. I've gotten better at controlling my fatal flaw now it's time you do the same"

"How'd you get so wise?"

"I've always been wise you're just too dumb and stubborn to notice" Percy laughed softly and then stopped

"so Percy talk to me please"

"It's not that easy Nico" Nico raised his sword menacingly

"Try" Percy laughed

"I could just kick our but and go back in there you know"

"You won't"

"How do you know?"

"Because if you turn your back on me again then I don't want you to bother turning back around ever"

"You're a crafty kid you know that"

"I've been told"

"Look I've told you before I can't tell you much because it won't let me, but I can tell you is that your father wasn't entirely wrong. Tartarus strips you down but not all at once that would be to kind; it does it little by little. In my time I've only been down there for about a week as far as I can tell, but what do I know, time seems weird down there so…"

"How does it feel?"

"It's hard to describe, it's like the longer your down there the less you you are like its stealing your identity. You feel weighed down all the time and it's like… I don't know, imagine the day you felt the worst the day were you considered it the end."

Nico looked suddenly awful, the worst day of his life where everything seemed to end was when Percy had confirmed Bianca's death. His last hope was crushed and he felt like the world had turned an ugly shade of grays nothing held any color or life. He had absolutely no hope and it was the only day he'd ever considered ending it all. He looked at Percy "ok"

"That's what it feels like all the time; all those feelings all at once constantly, it's like a game your constantly playing trying not to crack and do yourself in before anything else down there has the chance. I'm fighting it with everything I've got but everyday I'm losing just a little bit, if it wasn't for Annabeth I don't think I would make it to the end. Its because of her I can hold on to who I am because I have to get her out of there, I have to! But sometimes I feel helpless like I can't do anything except watch her lose herself and knowing that I'm not strong enough to protect us both is one of the worst tortures that you can imagine. So I'm trying so hard to just keep moving to get her out before we lose too much. And to top it all off I know in the end someone has to stay behind in that place! How could I condemn anyone to that?! How…" Percy lost his wind and tears blurred his vision he tried to hold them back, but talking about Annabeth and how hopeless everything seemed he couldn't stop tears from falling down his face. Nico stared at Percy he had never seen him so broken he had always seemed so strong, like a god, now he was seeing just how human Percy was. Nico felt a bit ashamed at himself he knew many of the campers thought of Percy like that, like he was inhuman, like he could handle anything; maybe that's why Percy did what he did because people got hope from Percy they held on to him to keep themselves from sinking and in doing that Percy was getting held under. He was drowning. Nico couldn't think, he threw himself at Percy and hugged him. Percy hugged him back

"Thank you"

"For what" Percy asked

"For everything… just for everything"

"No… thank you for not giving up on me even when I turned my back on you" Percy dried his tears Nico sat back and punched Percy in the arm

"That's enough of that I've reached my quota of nice for the day so expect to get dragged on for the rest of the day" Percy laughed

"I wouldn't expect any less, but Nico for now can this just be between us"

"Haven't you told Theseus and Orion they seemed to know?"

"They only know the very basics"

"You have to tell Thalia eventually and hazel and your dad and the gods will find out"

"yes I know but for now"

"Only for now"

"Thanks"

They both gathered themselves and walked back into the room

"Have you boys settled your argument?" hazel asked

"Yeah" said Nico "for the most part" hazel scootched over and let Nico sit back next to Percy. Thalia rolled her eyes and went back to reading but not before sending the two a confused look 'what was all that about' and she wasn't the only one everyone in the room except those who knew (Theseus Orion and Nico) all looked confused and intrigued

**"I know!" she shouted. "The place you described in your dream! But Grover's going to fall if we don't catch him." She was right, of course. Grover's predicament got me moving again.**

After the break the tension had dissipated and was now slowly starting to build back up

**He was yelling, clawing at the ground, but the winged shoes kept dragging him toward the pit, and it didn't look like we could possibly get to him in time.**

Hestia put her hands over her mouth as she gasped. Thalia looked worried as she continued to read faster and faster as she went along

**What saved him were his hooves.**

"What…" Nico started to question but Thalia cut him off. He huffed but didn't interrupt again

**The flying sneakers had always been a loose fit on him, and finally Grover hit a big rock and the left shoe came flying off. It sped into the darkness, down into the chasm. The right shoe kept tugging him along, but not as fast. Grover was able to slow himself down by grabbing on to the big rock and using it like an anchor.**

There were sighs of relief from the heroes and Hestia looked happy again

"Thank god you weren't wearing them" Poseidon sighed in relief

"Dad!"

"What I mean no offense to the satyr but if it had been you those shoes wouldn't have come off"

**He was ten feet from the edge of the pit when we caught him and hauled him back up the slope. The other winged shoe tugged itself off, circled around us angrily and kicked our heads in protest before flying off into the chasm to join its twin.**

Breathes were released except for Poseidon and Athena after all their children were still near that place and they weren't safe yet

Hermes looked incredibly serious "why would my shoes do that"

"They were tampered with" Hera said

"Obviously" Hermes said Hera huffed but Hermes was concentrating and didn't notice her glare

**We all collapsed, exhausted, on the obsidian gravel. My limbs felt like lead. Even my backpack seemed heavier, as if somebody had filled it with rocks.**

Something in Athena screamed at her to pay attention to that detail but her heart was blocking that out as she was still worried for her daughter

**Grover was scratched up pretty bad. His hands were bleeding. His eyes had gone slit-pupiled, goat style, the way they did whenever he was terrified.**

"I don't blame him only a couple of feet from being dragged into that place" Apollo stated

**"I don't know how ..." he panted. "I didn't..."**

**"Wait," I said. "Listen."**

**I heard something—a deep whisper in the darkness.**

"Good senses" Artemis stated "for a boy" she added as an afterthought making Apollo roll his eyes at her (wow that's a switch isn't it normally the other way around)

**Another few seconds, and Annabeth said, "Percy, this place—"**

"Please listen to her Percy and get away" Poseidon stressed the words get away he didn't want his son anywhere near that place

**"Shh." I stood.**

**The sound was getting louder, a muttering, evil voice from far, far below us. Coming from the pit.**

**Grover sat up. "Wh—what's that noise?"**

"Does it matter just get away" Thalia said "its common sense you here creepy voices you run away"

**Annabeth heard it too, now. I could see it in her eyes. "Tartarus. The entrance to Tartarus." I uncapped Anaklusmos.**

"You can't do anything with that"

"It makes me feel better"

**The bronze sword expanded, gleaming in the darkness, and the evil voice seemed to falter, just for a moment, before resuming its chant.**

**I could almost make out words now, ancient, ancient words, older even than Greek. As if ...**

**"Magic," I said.**

"How did you know that" Artemis asked

"I don't know I just sort of knew"

The gods looked at Percy he sure was a conundrum

**"We have to get out of here," Annabeth said.**

**Together, we dragged Grover to his hooves and started back up the tunnel. My legs wouldn't move fast enough. My backpack weighed me down. **

Hades narrowed his eyes, he knew he would never steal the bolt and the whole story he was trying to figure out where exactly it had been this whole time and this seemed to be a weird time to bring up this detail unless it was important and the backpack came from… he glared at Ares

**The voice got louder and angrier behind us, and we broke into a run.**

**Not a moment too soon.**

**A cold blast of wind pulled at our backs, as if the entire pit were inhaling. For a terrifying moment, I lost ground, my feet slipping in the gravel. If we'd been any closer to the edge, we would've been sucked in.**

The oldest gods all looked at each other that had never happened before what was going on there had been a lot of mention of Cronus but it couldn't be true it just couldn't

**We kept struggling forward, and finally reached the top of the tunnel, where the cavern widened out into the Fields of Asphodel. The wind died. A wail of outrage echoed from deep in the tunnel. Something was not happy we'd gotten away.**

**"What ****_was _****that?" Grover panted, when ****_we'd _****collapsed in the relative safety of a black poplar grove. "One of Hades's pets?"**

Hades shook his head "I wish it was that simple"

"Don't we all brother" Hestia said

**Annabeth and I looked at each other. I could tell she was nursing an idea, probably the same one she'd gotten during the taxi ride to L.A., but she was too scared to share it. That was enough to terrify me.**

**I capped my sword, put the pen back in my pocket. "Let's keep going." I looked at Grover. "Can you walk?"**

**He swallowed. "Yeah, sure. I never liked those shoes, anyway."**

Hermes frowned the person who had given the shoes to Grover was Luke, his son, and he refused to believe that any of his children present or future would do such a thing

**He tried to sound brave about it, but he was trembling as badly as Annabeth and I were. Whatever was in that pit was nobody's pet. It was unspeakably old and powerful. Even Echidna hadn't given me that feeling. I was almost relieved to turn my back on that tunnel and head toward the palace of Hades.**

**Almost.**

"Yeah now you have to deal with uncle and he's pretty dangerous and scary in his own right" Apollo stated

"Pretty ancient too" Hermes joked they both laughed and hades sent them the iciest death glare to which they both froze and looked anywhere else but at said god

**The Furies circled the parapets, high in the gloom. The outer walls of the fortress glittered black, and the two-story-tall bronze gates stood wide open.**

"You're expecting them" Hera mused

"Of course I know all those who enter into my domain"

**Up close, I saw that the engravings on the gates were scenes of death. Some were from modern times—an atomic bomb exploding over a city, a trench filled with gas mask-wearing soldiers, a line of African famine victims waiting with empty bowls—but all of them looked as if they'd been etched into the bronze thousands of years ago. I wondered if I was looking at prophecies that had come true.**

All the demigods shivered and the gods seemed uneasy all except Apollo who as the god of prophecies and was used to what they wrought

**Inside the courtyard was the strangest garden I'd ever seen. Multicolored mushrooms, poisonous shrubs, and weird luminous plants grew without sunlight. Precious jewels made up for the lack of flowers, piles of rubies as big as my fist, clumps of raw diamonds. Standing here and there like frozen party guests were Medusa's garden statues— petrified children, satyrs, and centaurs—all smiling grotesquely.**

"That sounds both beautiful and terrifying at the same time" Aphrodite said shivering a bit

For once no one looked at her like she was an idiot

**In the center of the garden was an orchard of pomegranate trees, their orange blooms neon bright in the dark. "The garden of Persephone," Annabeth said. "Keep walking."**

**I understood why she wanted to move on. The tart smell of those pomegranates was almost overwhelming. I had a sudden desire to eat them, but then I remembered the story of Persephone. One bite of Underworld food, and we would never be able to leave. **

"Really what makes them so tantalizing" Thalia asked having never been near them even the time she had 'visited'

"They smell really sweet and I was starving we hadn't eaten for a long while so it made it even worse"

**I pulled Grover away to keep him from picking a big juicy one.**

Thalia rolled her eyes

**We walked up the steps of the palace, between black columns, through a black marble portico, and into the house of Hades. The entry hall had a polished bronze floor, which seemed to boil in the reflected torchlight. There was no ceiling, just the cavern roof, far above. I guess they never had to worry about rain down here.**

"No we don't" hades stated

**Every side doorway was guarded by a skeleton in military gear. Some wore Greek armor, some British redcoat uniforms, some camouflage with tattered American flags on the shoulders. They carried spears or muskets or M-16s. None of them bothered us, but their hollow eye sockets followed us as we walked down the hall, toward the big set of doors at the opposite end.**

**Two U.S. Marine skeletons guarded the doors. They grinned down at us, rocket-propelled grenade launchers held across their chests.**

The heroes of old shivered even without knowing what exactly army or marines were just the idea was creepy

**"You know," Grover mumbled, "I bet Hades doesn't have trouble with door-to-door salesmen."**

A few gods snorted and even hades eyes twinkled a bit in amusement

**My backpack weighed a ton now. **

The amusement left and hades was once again serious his theory was starting to look more and more likely

**I couldn't figure out why. I wanted to open it, check to see if I had somehow picked up a stray bowling ball, but this wasn't the time.**

I should have Percy thought to himself it would have saved me a whole lot of trouble

**"Well, guys," I said. "I suppose we should ... knock?"**

**A hot wind blew down the corridor, and the doors swung open. The guards stepped aside.**

"Or not"

**"I guess that means ****_entrez-vous," _****Annabeth said.**

**The room inside looked just like in my dream, except this time the throne of Hades was occupied.**

**He was the third god I'd met, but the first who really struck me as godlike.**

Hades smirked while Dionysus and Ares glared looking offended

**He was at least ten feet tall, for one thing, and dressed in black silk robes and a crown of braided gold. His skin was albino white, his hair shoulder-length and jet black. He wasn't bulked up like Ares, but he radiated power. He lounged on his throne of fused human bones, looking lithe, graceful, and dangerous as a panther.**

Hades smirked, his description was to his liking and much better than his idiot nephews had been

**I immediately felt like he should be giving the orders. He knew more than I did. He should be my master. **

"His aura" Hestia said "it's much more powerful than Ares"

"Yeah and we saw how well that went" Hermes laughed Ares scowled and Percy blushed

**Then I told myself to snap out of it.**

"Look your learning" Thalia teased

**Hades's aura was affecting me, just as Ares's had. The Lord of the Dead resembled pictures I'd seen of Adolph Hitler, or Napoleon, or the terrorist leaders who direct suicide bombers. Hades had the same intense eyes, the same kind of mesmerizing, evil charisma.**

"Evil charisma?" Nico questioned then looked to Percy "do I have evil charisma?"

"I don't know you're so short it's hard to take you seriously"

Nico glared and everyone laughed

**"You are brave to come here, Son of Poseidon," he said in an oily voice. "After what you have done to me, very brave indeed. Or perhaps you are simply very foolish."**

"My voice is not oily" Hades huffed while his brothers snorted and laughed

"What has he done to you" Athena asked catching the phrase

**Numbness crept into my joints, tempting me to lie down and just take a little nap at Hades's feet. Curl up here and sleep forever.**

"Don't do it!" Percy Hermes and Apollo cried out dramatically Percy shook his head laughing and Artemis rolled her eyes at them

**I fought the feeling and stepped forward. I knew what I had to say. "Lord and Uncle, I come with two requests."**

"Idiot that's not going to get you anywhere" Artemis chastised. Percy blushed he had a feeling the rest of this chapter would be embarrassing for him

**Hades raised an eyebrow. When he sat forward in his throne, shadowy faces appeared in the folds of his black robes, faces of torment, as if the garment were stitched of trapped souls from the Fields of Punishment, trying to get out. The ADHD part of me wondered, off-task, whether the rest of his clothes were made the same way. What horrible things would you have to do in your life to get woven into Hades's underwear?**

Many of the gods and heroes face palmed of everything you could think of

Aphrodite stuck out her tongue in a gagging motion "eeww why would you even want to think about his undies"

"Oh gods" Thalia shivered and read really loud to get the topic changed she so did not need that mental image

**"Only two requests?" Hades said. "Arrogant child. As if you have not already taken enough. Speak, then. It amuses me not to strike you dead yet."**

"See I amused him"

"Good for you" Nico rolled his eyes

**I swallowed. This was going about as well as I'd feared.**

**I glanced at the empty, smaller throne next to Hades's. It was shaped like a black flower, gilded with gold. I wished Queen Persephone were here. I recalled something in the myths about how she could calm her husband's moods. **

Demeter smiled at the mention of her daughter then glared at the term husband

**But it was summer. Of course, Persephone would be above in the world of light with her mother, the goddess of agriculture, Demeter. Her visits, not the tilt of the planet, create the seasons.**

Demeter smiled happily at the thought of being with her dear daughter while hades looked irritated

**Annabeth cleared her throat. Her finger prodded me in the back.**

**"Lord Hades," I said. "Look, sir, there can't be a war among the gods. It would be ... bad."**

Several gods snorted "that's your argument?" Athena said looking shocked

"I was 12 and nervous give me a break we've already established that I'm no good with immortal beings"

"Yes you're making that more and more apparent" Artemis said blandly

**"Really bad," Grover added helpfully.**

**"Return Zeus's master bolt to me," I said. "Please, sir. Let me carry it to Olympus."**

Poseidon put his fingers on his temples oh dear lord here it comes he thought hades was glaring at Percy who looked toward Thalia to please continue before he dies

**Hades's eyes grew dangerously bright. "You dare keep up this pretense, after what you have done?"**

"That the third time he's mentioned that. What has he done?"

"You don't know" Poseidon feigned shock "great the world is ending"

"I have a theory I just wish to know if I'm right."

"And the world is righted again" Poseidon stated Athena looked highly irritated and Poseidon had a condescending smile on his face

**I glanced back at my friends. They looked as confused as I was.**

**"Um ... Uncle," I said. "You keep saying 'after what you've done.' What exactly have I done?"**

Athena leaned forward a bit

**The throne room shook with a tremor so strong, they probably felt it upstairs in Los Angeles. Debris fell from the cavern ceiling. Doors burst open all along the walls, and skeletal warriors marched in, hundreds of them, from every time period and nation in Western civilization. They lined the perimeter of the room, blocking the exits.**

Both Athena and Poseidon froze, and for the first time in a long while Athena no longer cared about the answer to the question all she was worried about was her daughter

**Hades bellowed, "Do you think I ****_want _****war, godling?"**

**I wanted to say, ****_Well, these guys don't look like peace activists. _**

"Please don't"

"I don't know it might be kind of funny, I'd love to see dad's reaction" Nico said

"Of course you would because it wouldn't be aimed at you" Percy said bluntly

**But I thought that might be a dangerous answer.**

**"You are the Lord of the Dead," I said carefully. "A war would expand your kingdom, right?"**

Nico and hazel winced knowing their father "you're digging yourself deeper and deeper" Nico said

**"A typical thing for my brothers to say! Do you think I need more subjects? Did you not see the sprawl of the Asphodel Fields?"**

Zeus and Poseidon stared at their older brother

**"Well..."**

**"Have you any idea how much my kingdom has swollen in this past century alone, how many subdivisions I've had to open?"**

**I opened my mouth to respond, but Hades was on a roll now.**

Hestia couldn't help but giggle a bit at that

**"More security ghouls," he moaned. "Traffic problems at the judgment pavilion. Double overtime for the staff. I used to be a rich god, Percy Jackson. I control all the precious metals under the earth. But my expenses!"**

"Brother if you need hel…" Poseidon started and Hestia's heart rose but hades glared at his brother and spat out angrily

"I don't need your help"

Poseidon glared back his pride taking over and he turned away all concern for his brother gone

Hestia let out and aggravated sigh so close but then if it would have been that easy it would have happened a long time ago

**"Charon wants a pay raise," I blurted, just remembering the fact. **

"You didn't" Thalia said "please tell me the book is lying" Percy was bright red with embarrassment "oh my gosh I can't believe you are that dumb, forgive me Lord Poseidon it seems Percy does have a death wish"

Artemis rolled her eyes and muttered "idiot" Nico had face palmed

Hazel stared at Percy in shock "Wow Percy Ares is one thing but talking to dad like that is just crazy"

Poseidon wanted to both protect his son and cuff him over the back of the head

**As soon as I said it, I wished I could sew up my mouth.**

"Well at least you realize you're an idiot" Athena said

**"Don't get me started on Charon!" Hades yelled. "He's been impossible ever since he discovered Italian suits! Problems everywhere, and I've got to handle all of them personally. The commute time alone from the palace to the gates is enough to drive me insane! And the dead just keep arriving. ****_No, _****godling. I need no help getting subjects! I did not ask for this war."**

"Then who's behind it" Hera asked the question on everyone's mind nobody answered (not nobody but nobody :p)

**"But you took Zeus's master bolt."**

"Oh god Percy give it up can't you see it's not my dad" nico said getting irritated

"Well I didn't want to think of that option because if he didn't have it I'm screwed. I'd ran out of time to figure out who actually had it so in my mind it was easier to believe it was him"

Hazel wanted to defend her father but she could understand what Percy was saying

**"Lies!" More rumbling. Hades rose from his throne, towering to the height of a football goalpost. "Your father may fool Zeus, boy, but I am not so stupid. I see his plan."**

"Excuse me" Poseidon glared at hades in anger

"Don't play innocent everyone automatically assumes your innocent what if you're not"

"What why would I want war?!"

"A war would not affect your realm so bad now would it" hades stated Poseidon's knuckles turned white as he squeezed his hands into fists

"Please brother a war would affect all of us horribly, I do not wish for unnecessary violence and why is it we are the only ones blamed you have no demigod children and I have but 1 who obviously didn't steal it so why couldn't it be one of the others" the other gods began to look offended

"SHUT UP!" Percy yelled everyone in the room froze in shock that Percy would yell at the gods like that "if you let Thalia read you'll get your answer there's no point in fighting if none of you know what's actually happening, when you can learn the truth by listening" then Percy took a deep breathe and sat down the gods blinked and sat back in their throne none of them wanting to admit that the boy was right. A few gods threw him glares while others pretended to ignore him.

**"His plan?"**

**_"You _****were the thief on the winter solstice," he said. "Your father thought to keep you his little secret. He directed you into the throne room on Olympus, You took the master bolt ****_and _****my helmet.**

"Your helmet is missing" Hestia gasped hades looked furious and Athena smiled she had been right

**Had I not sent my Fury to discover you at Yancy Academy, Poseidon might have succeeded in hiding his scheme to start a war. But now you have been forced into the open. You will be exposed as Poseidon's thief, and I will have my helmet back!"**

**"But ..." Annabeth spoke. I could tell her mind was going a million miles an hour. "Lord Hades, your helmet of darkness is missing, too?"**

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Please would it change anything, you in your high and mighty kingdom wouldn't spare a glance my way"

"But if you had said something it would have taken you off the suspect list" Athena commented hades huffed

Artemis scowled "men and their foolish pride"

"You have a bit of pride yourself" Hestia commented Artemis blushed a light shade of rose at the accusation

**"Do not play innocent with me, girl. You and the satyr have been helping this hero—coming here to threaten me in Poseidon's name, no doubt—to bring me an ultimatum. Does Poseidon think I can be blackmailed into supporting him?"**

Poseidon opened his mouth to intervene "silence" Hestia said firmly stopping all comments "I would like you to hold all arguments until the truth is known as young Perseus has stated earlier there is no point in them" no one objected all of them had far too much respect for her

**"No!" I said. "Poseidon didn't—I didn't—"**

**"I have said nothing of the helmet's disappearance," Hades snarled, "because I had no illusions that anyone on Olympus would offer me the slightest justice, the slightest help. I can ill afford for word to get out that my most powerful weapon of fear is missing. **

Hestia was saddened by the lack of trust they all had for one another she hoped these books would help change something even just a little bit

**So I searched for you myself, and when it was clear you were coming to me to deliver your threat, I did not try to stop you."**

"If it wasn't you who the heck was sending the monsters we know Zeus sent one but what of the others?" Athena questioned no one had any answers for her and the one who did just gestured to the book

**"You didn't try to stop us? But—"**

**"Return my helmet now, or I will stop death," Hades threatened. "That is my counterproposal. I will open the earth and have the dead pour back into the world. I will make your lands a nightmare. And you, Percy Jackson—****_your _****skeleton will lead my army out of Hades."**

Percy huffed "not a chance"

Hazel sighed it was like what had been happening in their time except hades had no control over it

**The skeletal soldiers all took one step forward, making their weapons ready.**

**At that point, I probably should have been terrified. The strange thing was, I felt offended.**

"You would" Thalia laughed

"Offended, what about what you were just saying about the truth" hazel asked

"I'm human too hazel I've learned my lessons but that doesn't mean I have no pride"

Hazel nodded and blushed duh sometimes it was hard to remember Percy had flaws just like anyone else

** Nothing gets me angrier than being accused of something I didn't do. I've had a lot of experience with that.**

**"You're as bad as Zeus,"**

"Hey!" Zeus and hades protested in unison then glared at each other

** I said. "You think I stole from you? That's why you sent the Furies after me?"**

**"Of course," Hades said.**

**"And the other monsters?"**

Athena frowned urgh there were still so many blank spaces it seemed the more info she got the more spaces seemed to appear

**Hades curled his lip. "I had nothing to do with them. I wanted no quick death for you—I wanted you brought before me alive so you might face every torture in the Fields of Punishment. Why do you think I let you enter my kingdom so easily?"**

**_"Easily?"_**

"That sounds familiar" Perseus laughed remembering when Percy had said the same thing earlier on in the chapter reading

**"Return my property!"**

**"But I don't have your helmet. I came for the master bolt."**

**"Which you already possess!" Hades shouted. "You came here with it, little fool, thinking you could you threaten me!"**

"What?!" all the gods looked at Percy who gestured to Thalia to keep reading anything to get all of them to stop staring at him in such a way

**"But I didn't!"**

**"Open your pack, then."**

Hades scowled as his theory was proven right

Athena suddenly remembered all the descriptions about how heavy his pack was she hadn't put it together because she had been too worried about her daughter to care at the time

**A horrible feeling struck me. The weight in my backpack, like a bowling ball. It couldn't be...**

**I slung it off my shoulder and unzipped it****_. _****Inside was a two-foot-long metal cylinder, spiked on both ends, humming with energy.**

"So the boy did steal it"

"Shut up Zeus" was echoed by all of his brothers and sisters all at once Zeus looked offended but refrained from retorting

**"Percy," Annabeth said. "How—"**

**"I—I don't know. I don't understand."**

"That doesn't surprise me" Athena said

**"You heroes are always the same," Hades said. "Your pride makes you foolish, **

"Well that's the pot calling the kettle black" Hestia said in frustration hades had the decency to look slightly chastised

**thinking you could bring such a weapon before me. I did not ask for Zeus's master bolt, but since it is here, you will yield it to me.**

"I think not" Zeus glared at his brother

** I am sure it will make an excellent bargaining tool. And now ... my helmet. Where is it?"**

**I was speechless. I had no helm. I had no idea how the master bolt had gotten into my backpack. I wanted to think Hades was pulling some kind of trick. Hades was the bad guy. **

Hades, hazel, and Nico all glared at Percy "really Perce really" Nico stated

"I'm sorry, but is it so bad that I wanted an easy answer"

"No but it is foolish" Athena stated Percy looked down and nodded

"Yes I realize that now"

**But suddenly the world turned sideways. I realized I'd been played with.**

Nico couldn't help the grin that slid onto their faces "what" Jason questioned the two of them

"Now Percy's going to be pissed" Percy blushed a light pink

"And a pissed Percy is a kick ass Percy" and now Percy was fire engine red

** Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades had been set at each other's throats by someone else. The master bolt had been in the backpack, and I'd gotten the backpack from ...**

"Ares" Jason said everyone looked at said god who raised his hands in surrender under the glares of Zeus Poseidon and hades combined "hey now I haven't done this yet so cool it"

**"Lord Hades, wait," I said. "This is all a mistake."**

**"A mistake?" Hades roared.**

**The skeletons aimed their weapons. From high above, there was a fluttering of leathery wings, and the three Furies swooped down to perch on the back of their master's throne. The one with Mrs. Dodds's face grinned at me eagerly and flicked her whip.**

Percy grimaced she still hated him to this day

**"There is no mistake," Hades said. "I know why you have come—I know the ****_real _****reason you brought the bolt. You came to bargain for ****_her_****."**

All the women even Artemis glared at hades who couldn't help but feel intimidated after all even he knew better than to piss of a bunch of women

**Hades loosed a ball of gold fire from his palm. It exploded on the steps in front of me, and there was my mother, frozen in a shower of gold, just as she was at the moment when the Minotaur began to squeeze her to death.**

Percy stiffened and Thalia read on quickly

**I couldn't speak. I reached out to touch her, but the light was as hot as a bonfire.**

Poseidon was glaring fiercely at hades

**"Yes," Hades said with satisfaction. "I took her. I knew, Percy Jackson, that you would come to bargain with me eventually. Return my helmet, and perhaps I will let her go. She is not dead, you know. Not yet. But if you displease me, that will change."**

Percy shook slightly in his seat his mind going back to that day he was brought back by a friendly nudge from Nico and a slight pressure on his shoulder by Thalia

**I thought about the pearls in my pocket. Maybe they could get me out of this. If I could just get my mom free...**

**"Ah, the pearls," Hades said, and my blood froze. **

"That's just creepy uncle" Apollo joked trying to lighten the atmosphere… it failed

**"Yes, my brother and his little tricks. Bring them forth, Percy Jackson."**

**My hand moved against my will and brought out the pearls.**

**"Only three," Hades said. "What a shame. You do realize each only protects a single person.**

Percy had been to angry and sad and exhausted mentally and physically last time to think about this, but hearing it again he suddenly got it. He looked at his dad "it was a test" he stated a bit of anger in his words Poseidon looked down

"Percy what do you mean?" hazel asked

"My fatal flaw is personal loyalty"

"Yes I know that"

"This was a test to see if I could overcome that or if I would destroy everything. It was a test to see if my fatal flaw would be detrimental! What would you have done if I failed?!" Percy sent the question to his father his anger and frustration lashing out "killed me"

"Percy of course not" Poseidon interjected "how could you…"

Percy interrupted him "How could I, how could you! How could you use my mother as some sort of test! How…" words evaded Percy in his anger and he looked away from his father who opened his mouth to reply only to have no answer for his son. He himself had no idea what would make his future self-go to such lengths he didn't know. Poseidon sighed it seemed at the beginning he and his son had had a great relationship when it came to gods and their children, but as the reading went on Poseidon could feel the gap between them growing and he didn't quite know why

Percy was angry and he felt hurt he knew he was distancing himself from his father but he couldn't care less at this point. He had been frustrated with Poseidon since before he came to this time and if he was being honest with himself it wasn't quite fair for him to be angry with the Poseidon of this time, but he couldn't help it. Ever since he had woken up he had prayed to his father asking for advice for anything; any sort of sign to help to show him he wasn't alone, but there was not even a whisper, even when he had remembered who he was and had sacrificed food into the fire there was no familiar smell of sea breeze that he normally got when his father was listening just burning food and although it still smelt oddly good it showed him that his father was ignoring him and that was beyond frustrating. How many times had he almost died hoping for his father to help him. He was becoming like Thalia had been, no longer praying to his father because he assumed that there would be no answer.

Thalia wanted to say something, but with Percy in one of his moods she decided it would be best to just get through with the chapter

** Try to take your mother, then, little godling. And which of your friends will you leave behind to spend eternity with me? Go on. Choose. Or give me the backpack and accept my terms."**

"Like he would let any of them stay there" Thalia said she had full faith in Percy

**I looked at Annabeth and Grover. Their faces were grim.**

**"We were tricked," I told them. "Set up."**

"Way to state the obvious" hazel teased Percy only managed a tight smile in return

**"Yes, but why?" Annabeth asked. "And the voice in the pit—"**

**"I don't know yet," I said. "But I intend to ask."**

**"Decide, boy!" Hades yelled.**

Some of the heroes held their breath

**"Percy." Grover put his hand on my shoulder. "You can't give him the bolt,"**

**"I know that."**

"At least he knows that much" Zeus said only to be shushed by some of the others

**"Leave me here," he said. "Use the third pearl on your mom."**

**"No!"**

**"I'm a satyr," Grover said. "We don't have souls like humans do. He can torture me until I die, but he won't get me forever. I'll just be reincarnated as a flower or something. It's the best way."**

Thalia smiled Grover was such an amazingly brave satyr

Percy smiled he missed his best friend

**"No." Annabeth drew her bronze knife. "You two go on. Grover, you have to protect Percy. You have to get your searcher's license and start your quest for Pan. Get his mom out of here. I'll cover you. I plan to go down fighting."**

Athena tensed "please no" she whispered under her breath

"Don't worry Percy won't let that happen" Poseidon told her quietly so only she could hear. Athena looked at him and nodded

**"No way," Grover said. "I'm staying behind."**

**"Think again, goat boy," Annabeth said.**

The demi gods laughed the heroes of old were slightly jealous none of their friends would ever have done that for them even Hercules felt a twinge of jealousy at that

Jason found himself wondering if Leo and Piper would do the same for him he settled on yes after all he trusted them with his life and vice versa

**"Stop it, both of you!" I felt like my heart was being ripped in two. They had both been with me through so much. I remembered Grover dive-bombing Medusa in the statue garden, and Annabeth saving us from Cerberus; we'd survived Hephaestus's Waterland ride, the St. Louis Arch, the Lotus Casino. I had spent thousands of miles worried that I'd be betrayed by a friend, but these friends would never do that. **

Hestia smiled at Percy but it was a sad smile she could see how much pain the boy was in and I t hurt her but still he showed such bravery and kindness

**They had done nothing but save me, over and over, and now they wanted to sacrifice their lives for my mom.**

**"I know what to do," I said. "Take these."**

**I handed them each a pearl.**

Now everyone was concentrated on the book would Percy sacrifice himself?

**Annabeth said, "But, Percy ..."**

**I turned and faced my mother. I desperately wanted to sacrifice myself and use the last pearl on her, but I knew what she would say.**

Percy shivered "she would have been so mad" he said softly

"And that scares you?" hazel asked

"Terrifies me"

"Really?" Jason questioned

"You've never seen his mom mad, she is… well let's say I'd rather face monsters then that"

"ditto" both Percy and Nico added Jason and hazel stared at each other in shock

** She would never allow it. I had to get the bolt back to Olympus and tell Zeus the truth. I had to stop the war. She would never forgive me if I saved her instead. I thought about the prophecy made at Half-Blood Hill, what seemed like a million years ago. ****_You will fail to save what matters most in the end._**

Athena had been right but for once the fact did not give her a single ounce of joy

**"I'm sorry," I told her. "I'll be back. I'll find a way."**

Artemis nodded good boy she thought she had never seen a boy so devoted to his mother it was interesting to say the least

**The smug look on Hades's face faded. He said, "Godling ... ?"**

"Take that Uncle" Apollo said but it lacked the usual gusto

**"I'll find your helmet, Uncle," I told him. "I'll return it. Remember about Charon's pay raise."**

The tension and sadness lifted as everyone laughed rolled their eyes or face palmed both Nico and Thalia hit Percy over the head

"Ow"

"Idiot" they replied

**"Do not defy me—"**( Sarah," said the Goblin King. comment if you know this reference and I'll give you props in the next chapter)

**"And it wouldn't hurt to play with Cerberus once in a while. He likes red rubber balls."**

More laughter and more scoffing

"Don't worry I do" Nico said laughter clear in his voice

**"Percy Jackson, you will not—"**

**I shouted, "Now, guys!"**

**We smashed the pearls at our feet. For a scary moment, nothing happened.**

Poseidon's fingers momentarily grabbed his throne

**Hades yelled, "Destroy them!"**

"No" Athena yelped out

**The army of skeletons rushed forward, swords out, guns clicking to full automatic. The Furies lunged, their whips bursting into flame.**

**Just as the skeletons opened fire, the pearl fragments at my feet exploded with a burst of green light and a gust of fresh sea wind. I was encased in a milky white sphere, which was starting to float off the ground.**

The tension died down and everyone relaxed

"Oh thank heavens this book will be the end of me" Hera stated Poseidon and Athena agreed for once

**Annabeth and Grover were right behind me. Spears and bullets sparked harmlessly off the pearl bubbles as we floated up. Hades yelled with such rage, the entire fortress shook and I knew it was not going to be a peaceful night in L.A.**

"Poor poor LA, what did they ever do to you Percy"

"Well almost got killed by kids with knifes and then my friends almost got stretched to death"

"Touché"

**"Look up.'" Grover yelled. "We're going to crash!"**

**Sure enough, we were racing right toward the stalactites, which I figured would pop our bubbles and skewer us.**

**"How do you control these things?" Annabeth shouted.**

**"I don't think you do!" I shouted back.**

**We screamed as the bubbles slammed into the ceiling and ... Darkness.**

**Were we dead?**

"No" Poseidon chuckled Percy didn't look at his dad

**No,**

A few people chuckled but the obvious tension between father and son was deafening

** I could still feel the racing sensation. We were going up, right through solid rock as easily as an air bubble in water. That was the power of the pearls, I realized—****_Whatbelongs to the sea will always return to the sea._**

**For a few moments, I couldn't see anything outside the smooth walls of my sphere, then my pearl broke through on the ocean floor. The two other milky spheres, Annabeth and Grover, kept pace with me as we soared upward through the water. And—****_ker-blam!_**

"I love your onomatopoeia's" Apollo commented

"Wow you actually know a word that big" Artemis commented feigning surprise

"I am the god of poetry you know" Apollo's tone was not joking he actually seemed genuinely offended Artemis looked shocked but perhaps it was the tension in the air that was making him more serious, yes that had to be it she thought

**We exploded on the surface, in the middle of the Santa Monica Bay, knocking a surfer off his board with an indignant, "Dude!"**

**I grabbed Grover and hauled him over to a life buoy. I caught Annabeth and dragged her over too.**

"Thank the gods for your fishy powers I'm sure they were exhausted"

** A curious shark was circling us, a great white about eleven feet long.**

The children who weren't Poseidon's all shivered

**I said, "Beat it."**

**The shark turned and raced away.**

"Cool" Nico said

**The surfer screamed something about bad mushrooms and paddled away from us as fast as he could.**

This got a couple of laughs and the tension eased

**Somehow, I knew what time it was: early morning, June 21, the day of the summer solstice.**

"Aww water makes Percy smart"

"Shut up Thals"

"That's pretty cool though" hazel commented

**In the distance, Los Angeles was on fire, plumes of smoke rising from neighborhoods all over the city. There had been an earthquake, all right, and it was Hades's fault. He was probably sending an army of the dead after me right now.**

"Poor LA"

**But at the moment, the Underworld wasn't my biggest problem.**

**I had to get to shore. I had to get Zeus's thunderbolt back to Olympus. Most of all, I had to have a serious conversation with the god who'd tricked me.**

"DUN DUN DUUUN!" Hermes and Apollo sang

Thalia laughed before holding up the book "end of chapter who's next?"

"Might as well" Nico said snatching the book from Thalia and turning to the next chapter quickly wanting to find out how everything went down with Ares he had heard a lot of rumors but now finally the truth.

AN: ok guys that's the end of the chapter I was going to do 2 chapters at once but with that huge dramatic piece in the center took me a while so I decided not to make you wait any longer and I just posted this one. I'm really nervous about what you guys think of the talk between Nico and Percy as well as the argument between Percy and Poseidon. I know also that a lot of the drama is centering around Percy but as he's the only one present in the books and in the room right now that's how it's going to be. Once I get to the third book Nico and Thalia will have their turns and for those who are concerned don't worry this is NOT a Perlia story, although sometimes I think it might be cute. I am a hardcore percabeth shipper. Also yes in Greek mythology Artemis's hair is supposed to be blonde like Apollo's, but in Rick's version its auburn so I said hell with it I think black suits her so that's what it is. If you have any other questions or concerns (besides about Annabeth being brought into the story. Sorry I keep bringing this up but every time I post a chapter I get people who ask and its annoying, I love all of you guys, but damn it get irritating) please feel free to ask and I'll either message you with an answer or post the answer at the beginning or end of one of my chapters. Thanks again to all my faithful readers. Oh that makes me bring up another point sorry I've been wanting to rant on this. Feel free to ignore if you like. I've been browsing around other stories and I've noticed a few new ones that have well let's say come very very close to mine (not accusing anyone) but damn that's frustrating. I work really hard on all my ideas trying to make a very unique and convincing story that could actually work in the book series and it just irks me when I see other stories take something I worked really hard on to make this story make sense, and not just this happens because …magic or because I'm the author and I say so No I try to make sure each explanation actually makes sense. Any way I'm not saying that maybe they didn't just magically have the same idea but really you don't have to use the exact words I'm using if you're going to do it and I realize I'm on a site where you should expect that to happen and I'm sure the person who started the whole reading the books thing probably felt the same way and maybe I'm just being too sensitive I don't know. What do you think… really I want to know because I kind of feel like a conceited bitch writing this right now so please let me know what you think no offense will be taken as I asked for your criticism. Thank you and that's all stay tuned for next time…


	27. Chapter 27

AN: you guys all rock! When I started this I figured it would be a fun little story I might get a few reviews every chapter or so, but here I am almost at 1000 reviews… it's more than I ever hoped for. So I want to thank all of you for reviewing it really keeps me going! Oh and if you haven't seen Epic or Star Trek into Darkness you so should; they are really good movies especially Star Trek. Benedict Cumberbatch (I love this guy) was awesome. Any way I promised props to those who guessed my reference which was from The Labyrinth (one of my favorite old movies if you haven't seen it I strongly recommend it) so props to:

**Prime- Lover 13, Tiger5676, MorningStarAtNight, Riley Person, Regina1999, Tom Marvolo Riddle 2, You're Beautiful Let it Show, KingOfPop12345, Daughter Of Sun and Moon, NZCoker86, Coastiewife465, Allen R, Little Raccoon, Starfire the Dragon, Aliinna, Harrison Potter, Wings of Tears, Silent Phantom gal.**

Props to you guys, if I missed anyone I'm sorry.

Now I've got one more huge thanks to **Avid Reader0907** you helped me immensely to get this chapter done quicker. Because in all honesty with my two jobs I was exhausted and so my writing was slow. Trying to type the chapter was taking forever and you sent me the whole chapter typed for me and so to all my reviewers it's thanks to him or her (sorry I don't know if you're a guy or a girl so…) that this chapter is up now and also I want to say that you have given me new energy to write this! If I have someone who is willing to type the chapter out for me then I have to do better at getting these chapters out faster and I say this every time, but I'm going to really try to finish off the rest of this book quickly because in all honesty I'm excited to finish and start the Sea of Monsters

Disclaimer: I own nothing

**"I Battle My Jerk Relative,"** Nico read out

"This should be interesting" Hermes said looking toward Ares

Ares smirked "your right this should be fun"

**A Coast Guard boat picked us up, but they were too busy to keep us for long, or to wonder how three kids in street clothes had gotten out into the middle of the bay. **

"I'm sure they have plenty else to worry about considering the earthquake you just caused" Apollo stated

"Techniquely Hades caused it" Hades glared at Percy who raised his hands "what its true"

**There was a disaster to mop up. Their radios were jammed with distress calls. **

Demeter glared at Hades "taking your anger out on innocent people how despicable"

"You know your describing everyone here including yourself and excluding Hestia" the latter smiled at Hades and the first glared while the rest of the gods just shrugged and nodded it was true

**They dropped us off at the Santa Monica Pier with towels around our shoulders and water bottles that said I'M A JUNIOR COAST GUARD! and sped off to save more people. **

**Our clothes were sopping wet, even mine. When the Coast Guard boat had appeared, I'd silently prayed they wouldn't pick me out of the water and find me perfectly dry, **

"That would have been hilarious" Apollo stated

"Totally should have" Hermes added

Hera shook her head "it's no time for jokes"

"Kill joy" Hermes mouthed to Apollo who snorted

**which might've raised some eyebrows. So I'd willed myself to get soaked. Sure enough, my usual waterproof magic had abandoned me. I was also barefoot, because I'd given my shoes to Grover. Better the Coast Guard wonder why one of us was barefoot than wonder why one of us had hooves. **

"Good that was smart" Athena acknowledged nodding her head

**After reaching dry land, we stumbled down the beach, watching the city burn against a beautiful sunrise. I felt as if I'd just come back from the dead – which I had. **

"Well" Hades said "not really, you weren't dead trust me if you were there's no way you'd be coming back from it" Percy held his tongue from giving away the future. Hazel looked down and Percy leaned in

"Come on your still here right obviously your father changed his views when it comes to you" Hazel smiled at Percy

"Thanks"

**My backpack was heavy with Zeus's master bolt. **

**My heart was even heavier from seeing my mother. **

The women in the room awe and Percy looked down sadly, that had been one of the saddest moments of his life having to consciously leave behind his mother knowing he could have saved her

"**I don't believe it," Annabeth said. "We went all that way–"**

"**It was a trick," I said. "A strategy worthy of Athena."**

Athena raised her eyebrows a bit at that but didn't comment instead she agreed with the statement "it is young hero which makes me wonder how Ares ever came up with it"

"Hey" Ares stated

"**Hey," she warned. **

Athena smiled it was nice to know your children defended you

"**You get it, don't you?"**

**She dropped her eyes, her anger fading. "Yeah. I get it."**

"**Well, I don't!" Grover complained. "Would somebody–"**

Everyone laughed and Thalia smiled "oh Grover"

"**Percy..." Annabeth said. "I'm sorry about your mother. I'm so sorry..."**

"Way to bring up a touchy subject" Theseus muttered

"She was just trying to help" Percy defended her

"Still not very tactful" but Theseus let the subject drop at that

**I pretended not to hear her. If I talked about my mother, I was going to start crying like a little kid. **

"Mama's boy" Ares scoffed

"And what is wrong with that" Hera asked "you should be taking notes that is how you should treat your mother"

"You should take notes from Percy's mom then because you don't act like a mother that deserves such treatment" Hephaestus stated

"Well I never" Hera stiffened and glared at him but before an argument could start Nico started to read

"**The prophecy was right," I said. "'You  
shall go west and face the god who has turned.' But it wasn't Hades. **

"Thank you very much" Hades said in slight irritation

**Hades didn't want war among the Big Three. Someone else pulled off the theft. Someone stole Zeus's master bolt, and Hades's helm, and framed me because I'm Poseidon's kid. **

"Why is it always me" Percy stated

"Because the fates know you're the only one good enough and strong enough to handle it; me and Nico hold to many grudges or have too little faith. You're different" Thalia said everyone was quiet as they thought about that.

"That's not true" Percy said "I have grudges, I held a grudge against him and the gods"

"Yes but you still did what was right despite that grudge you still fought for the gods and you could put aside your hate enough to try and help him and in the end you trusted him despite all that he had done. I gave up my faith in the gods remember you helped me get it back and Nico lost himself to his grudges and you helped him back on track"

"Just wait till you read the rest of these books you won't be saying that" Percy denied

Thalia sighed but shook her head "you'll see Percy your much more then you think you are" she whispered to herself

**Poseidon will get blamed by both sides. By sundown today, there will be a three-way war. And I'll have caused it."**

"Naw you'll have stopped it actually" Nico said "I mean if what I've heard is right"

**Grover shook his head, mystified. "But who would be that sneaky? Who would want war that bad?"**

"Well we all know who would want war, but the sneaky thing that's just not Ares; he likes to brag too much to be sneaky or subtle"

**I stopped in my tracks, looking down the beach. "Gee, let me think."**

**There he was, waiting for us, in his black leather duster and his sunglasses, an aluminum baseball bat propped on his shoulder. **

"Don't hurt him to much dear he has an interesting love life and I'm really looking forward to messing with it" Aphrodite stated

"You better not hurt him at all" Poseidon stated

"Hey this in the future so even if I did I haven't done it yet so you can't hurt me" Ares stated

"Although I hate to have to say this Ares is right (queue gasp) this all happens in the future so there's no reason to fight about it when we have no control over it as of now" Athena stated wisely

**His motorcycle rumbled beside him, its headlight turning the sand red. **

"**Hey, kid," Ares said, seeming genuinely pleased to see me. "You were supposed to die."**

"Wow Ares being pleased to see a demigod that isn't his kid; Percy really is one of a kind" Apollo stated

"**You tricked me," I said. "****_You_**** stole the helm and the master bolt."**

"Techniquely he didn't steal them at least not personally and I don't think he actually hired anyone to steal them even Ares isn't stupid enough to evoke the wrath of Zeus and Hades" Athena said

**Ares grinned. "Well, now, I didn't steal them personally. Gods taking each other's symbols of power–that's a big no-no. But you're not the only hero in the world who can run errands."**

"Or maybe he is stupid enough"

"**Who did you use? Clarisse? She was there at the winter solstice."**

"Nope Clarisse wouldn't have been able to pull that off without getting caught"

**The idea seemed to amuse him. "Doesn't matter. The point is, kid, you're impeding the war effort. **

The big three all glared at Ares who shrunk back into his throne at the power of their glares

**See, you've got to die in the Underworld. Then Old Seaweed will be mad at Hades for killing you. **

**Corpse Breath will have Zeus's master bolt, so Zeus'll be mad at ****_him._**

**And Hades is still looking for this..."**

"One big triangle of hate and war" Ares couldn't help but smirk at that thought. God it would be a good war.

**From his pocket he took out a ski cap–the kind bank robbers wear–and placed it between the handlebars of his bike. Immediately, the cap transformed into an elaborate bronze war helmet. **

Hades glared at Ares, it was a glare of pure fury and darkness, Ares looked terrified. The only thing stopping Hades from attacking Ares was what Athena had said earlier; Hades might be a hot head at times but he still listened to reason

"**The helm of darkness," Grover gasped. **

"**Exactly," Ares said. "Now where was I? Oh yeah, Hades will be mad at both Zeus and Poseidon, because he doesn't know who took this. Pretty soon, we got a nice little three-way slugfest going."**

"**But they're your family!" Annabeth protested. **

Percy couldn't help but snort at that Hera looked at him "you don't agree"

"I've been here for a couple of days and there is no way you're a family, you all argue over the dumbest things and you're too proud to give or receive help. In the future you're all terrible to each other and to your own children"

'Young hero you say too much" Athena stated "we have been around for quite a long time"

"I'm not expecting you to change in a day but you could try talking to each other or at least try to be civil with each other. If you don't change anything then there is no way you 'll be able to change the future" the gods looked at Percy and then at each other, but no one did anything, they just sat there. They couldn't deny what he said but all were too proud to do anything to start the change Percy sighed and gesture to Nico to continue to read. Hestia smiled at the boy he was right and although it seemed impossible now maybe as the books continued the gods would really see what was happening and maybe just maybe it may humble them just a bit.

**Ares shrugged. "Best kind of war. Always the bloodiest. Nothing like watching your relatives fight, I always say."**

"**You gave me the backpack in Denver," I said. "The master bolt was in there the whole time."**

"Obviously not" Athena broke the awkward silence that had settled "you'd have noticed"

"**Yes and no," Ares said. "It's probably too complicated for your little mortal brain to follow, **

"Then how in the world did you think of it" Apollo joked Hermes laughed and a few of the other gods snickered as Ares glared but he didn't say anything as the big three were still pissed with him

**but the backpack is the master bolt's sheath, just morphed a bit. The bolt is connected to it, sort of like that sword you got, kid. It always returns to your pocket, right?"**

Athena nodded "that's incredibly smart"

"Again how did Ares come up with this" Apollo whispered it to Hermes generally confused

"Well he definitely didn't do it alone" Hermes replied his face serious. Apollo frowned

"It couldn't be him I mean its one thing to be able to influence a demigod but a god" if it was that bad then he'd gotten a whole lot stronger than they had first thought

**I wasn't sure how Ares knew about that, but I guess a god of war had to make it his business to know about weapons. **

"Duh I know everything about every weapon in this room right now'

"I know this is Ares were talking about" Nico whispered "but that's kind of cool" Thalia nodded if a bit reluctantly

"**Anyway," Ares continued, "I tinkered with the magic a bit, so the bolt would only return to the sheath once you reached the Underworld. You get close to Hades... Bingo, you got mail. **

Zeus and Hades glared while Athena couldn't help but appreciate the genius behind this plan despite its evil intentions

**If you died along the way–no loss. I still had the weapon."**

This got a glare from Poseidon his son may be upset with him and he may have only just met him but that meant nothing this was his son and in only a few days Poseidon loved him just as much as his other children who were years older. If Ares hurt him Poseidon was going to be pissed

"**But why not just keep the master bolt for yourself?" I said. "Why send it to Hades?"**

**Ares got a twitch in his jaw. For a moment, it was almost as if he were listening to another voice, deep inside his head. **

The gods all looked at each other the room grew colder

"**Why didn't I... yeah... with that kind of firepower..."**

Ares looked confused what was with his older self he didn't get controlled by anyone, and Ares was going to make damn sure that this wouldn't happen in the future unless it was his idea and his only

**He held the trance for one second... two seconds...**

**I exchanged nervous looks with Annabeth. **

The gods were genuinely worried but Zeus stood up "now everyone come on father has stirred before this is no different"

"No different" Apollo spoke up "yeah Cronus has stirred before, but he's gone so far to poses a god, and well it is Ares granted that has to be pretty easy"

"Hey" Ares protested Artemis rolled her eyes trust her brother to joke during a series conversation but to his credit she did have to admit that he had a good point

"He's never been that strong before if he can do that and he obviously has one if not more supporters what if…" Zeus cut Apollo off

"It might not even be him it hasn't actually said that yet" Apollo rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in the air Apollo wasn't series often but when he was he meant business

"It's not him; come on everyone else can see it! You're deluded" Apollo bit out in frustration

"Enough Apollo"

"Fine"

**Ares's face cleared. "I didn't want the trouble. Better to have you caught redhanded, holding the thing."**

"I could tell that that was a lie from a mile away" Hermes said trying to lighten up the atmosphere. It didn't work, the air was stiff and the only sound was the slight comments and Nico's loud voice reading out the book.

"**You're lying," I said. "Sending the bolt to the Underworld wasn't your idea, was it?"**

"See he sees it" Hermes said nudging Apollo trying to get at least a smile; nothing and Hermes sighed Apollo was like his brother and he hated to see him like this. Hermes always took it upon himself to cheer Apollo up and he was sad to say he had to do it often. Apollo had it good with being the god of the sun and music, but he had it the worst because to add to that he was the god of prophecy and having that on his shoulders was tough for the god. Apollo tried to stay positive, he had to, but he couldn't all the time. Apollo was the worst after he got a new prophecy; it was awful and Artemis hated her brother so as his best friend and brother Hermes took it upon himself to help him.

"**Of course it was!" Smoke drifted up from his sunglasses, as if they were about to catch fire. **

Ares was irritated what was wrong with future him why didn't he just blast this kid

"**You didn't order the theft," I guessed. "Someone else sent a hero to steal the two items. Then, when Zeus sent you to hunt him down, you caught the thief. But you didn't turn him over to Zeus. Something convinced you to let him go. You kept the items until another hero could come along and complete the delivery. That thing in the pit is ordering you around."**

"Wow Percy you put that all together yourself" Thalia said sounding shocked

"Always the tone of surprise" (hp movie reference)

"**I am the god of war! I take orders from no one! I don't have dreams!"**

"He didn't say anything about dreams" Poseidon stated

**I hesitated. "Who said anything about dreams?"**

"Well close enough" Theseus laughed

**Ares looked agitated, but he tried to cover it with a smirk. **

"**Let's get back to the problem at hand, kid. You're alive. I can't have you taking that bolt to Olympus. You just might get those hardheaded idiots to listen to you.**

"Hotheaded" Zeus stated

"Idiots" Poseidon added

"Well he's got that part right hasn't he" Athena muttered earning a glare from Poseidon and a snort from Apollo. Hermes smiled at Apollo and gave him a friendly nudge Apollo flashed his bright blinding smile.

Meanwhile Zeus and Poseidon were looking at Ares in anger Ares held up his hands "come on we've already said this happens in the future"

** So I've got to kill you. Nothing personal."**

Poseidon's glare increased and Ares winced

**He snapped his fingers. The sand exploded at his feet and out charged a wild boar, even larger and uglier than the one whose head hung above the door of cabin seven at Camp Half-Blood. **

"Ugh" Nico said "uglier than that thing gross"

**The beast pawed the sand, glaring at me with beady eyes as it lowered its razor-sharp tusks and waited for the command to kill. **

Everyone was glued back onto the story. Theseus had a bad feeling Percy was about to do something impulsive and stupid.

**I stepped into the surf. "Fight me yourself, Ares."**

Yup there it is Theseus thought putting his head in his hands

"Are you crazy" Orion asked he knew Percy had a problem with authority figures especially the gods but challenging one of them, and not just any one but the god of war, was his little brother serious. My god how was he still alive

Poseidon turned pale he couldn't believe what he just heard

"I knew it was stupid for Chiron to tell you that you could challenge a god if you were dumb enough"

"He said brave too"

"Have you heard the saying that bravery is by far the nicest word for stupidity, in this case I agree with that quote" Thalia stated "I mean I heard the story, but jeez Percy do you have a death wish"

"I was angry and exhausted I couldn't take it anymore I admit it was a bit rash, but come on like you wouldn't do the same thing"

"No I would not challenge a god"

"Alright can we keep going I want to read about me kicking his a**" Ares boasted loudly everyone looked nervous except Nico Thalia and Athena

Nico and Thalia had heard the story at camp; hell everyone had it was a pretty famous legend at camp. They didn't tell it in front of Percy because he refuted everything, but it was one of the best campfire stories during the school year when Percy was gone.

Athena on the other hand had figured that Percy would be just fine; after all if he had lost he wouldn't be here right now. The only thing she had a question on was how he had pulled it off? The hero had barely even started camp and the time he had spent there wasn't very long, he had done well so far but monsters and gods were two different things completely

**He laughed, but I heard a little edge to his laughter... an uneasiness.**

"Your dreaming kid you've got nothing against me"

** "You've only got one talent, kid, running away. You ran from the Chimera. You ran from the Underworld. You don't have what it takes."**

Percy couldn't help but throw a glare at Ares who was a bit shocked to see such an evil glare from a kid I mean his glares were way better than the stupid godling's was

"**Scared?"**

"In your adolescent dreams" Ares stated

"**In your adolescent dreams." **

"You don't change much do you?"

"He better start" Poseidon bit out "because this better not happen in the future or else" Poseidon's glare was awful almost a replica of his sons except Ares knew for a fact Poseidon could kill him if he could be killed that is

**But his sunglasses were starting to melt from the heat of his eyes. "No direct involvement. Sorry, kid. You're not at my level."**

Percy had to force himself not to smirk

Hazel stare at Percy he was insane she thought nothing could shock her but this was … she had no words to describe it

Jason was much the same he was trying to give Percy a chance for his sisters sake and had decided to at least let the books prove to him how Percy really is, but this just proved he was dumb and he was going to get his butt kicked the only reason he could still be alive is because his dad saved him that had to be it

Hercules smirked please this kid couldn't beat a chimera he was so screwed dumba**

**Annabeth said, "Percy, run!"**

Please listen to her Poseidon wanted to plead but is pride stopped him so he just waited bated breath hoping his son would do the smart thing

**The giant boar charged. **

**But I was done running from monsters. Or Hades, or Ares, or anybody. **

Nico was the only one smiling he had seen Percy take on Hades and win granted he had the curse of Achilles, but Nico knew part of that was Percy's natural talent

**As the boar rushed me, I uncapped my pen and sidestepped. Riptide appeared in my hands. I slashed upward. The boar's severed right tusk fell at my feet, while the disoriented animal charged into the sea.**

"Yeah" Theseus cheered before he could stop himself. Orion looked shocked as Theseus smiled at Percy this was the first time Orion had seen Theseus do anything that wasn't smart or refined; maybe he wasn't to terribly uptight. Theseus wasn't the only one many of the listeners gave a silent whoop all but Hercules wanted to see Percy succeed even Jason; although, he still thought Percy was an idiot.

**I shouted, "Wave!"**

Poseidon smiled "couldn't have chosen a better place to challenge him aye son" Percy didn't respond and Poseidon sighed the next break Poseidon really had to sit down and talk to his son and try not to screw things up even more

**Immediately, a wave surged up from nowhere and engulfed the boar, wrapping around it like a blanket. The beast squealed once in terror. Then it was gone, swallowed by the sea. **

"It was pretty dumb of you to fight him in his own domain" Athena stated

"Holy crap I can't believe it Athena and Poseidon agreed on something this whole book has been one big calendar marking agreeing and not killing each other this is the most time we've spent together in centuries"

**I turned back to Ares. "Are you going to fight me now?" I asked. "Or are you going to hide behind another pet?"**

The atmosphere tensed and Nico read on quickly wanting to get to the fight to know the story from Percy's point of view

**Ares's face was purple with rage. "Watch it, kid. I could turn you into–"**

"**A cockroach," I said. "Or a tapeworm. Yeah, I'm sure. That'd save you from getting your godly hide whipped, wouldn't it?"**

"Oooh" Apollo and Hermes synchronized trying to lighten the mood and save their favorite uncle from having a heart attack, it wasn't going to well as Poseidon already looked like he had aged a few centuries his face pale.

**Flames danced along the top of his glasses. "Oh, man, you are really asking to be smashed into a grease spot."**

"Just fight already will you" Dionysus stated getting bored with pointless banter they were obviously going to fight so they should hurry up with it

"**If I lose, turn me into anything you want. Take the bolt. If I win, the helm and the bolt are mine and you have to go away."**

**Ares sneered. He swung the baseball bat off his shoulder. "How would you like to get smashed: classic or modern?" I showed him my sword. **

"**That's cool, dead boy," he said. "Classic it is." The baseball bat changed into a huge, two-handed sword. The hilt was a large silver skull with a ruby in its mouth. **

"That's pretty awesome" Nico commented

"You just like it for the skull"

"Still kind of cool"

"It's Ares" Thalia stated looking at said god in disgust

"I didn't say he was cool, I said the sword was cool. There's a difference"

"**Percy," Annabeth said. "Don't do this. He's a god."**

"**He's a coward," I told her. **

"I am no coward" Ares sneered looking pissed

Poseidon groaned he wanted to pray for his son but to whom did a god pray to

**She swallowed. "Wear this, at least. For luck."**

**She took off her necklace, with her five years' worth of camp beads and the ring from her father, and tied it around my neck. **

Aphrodite let out one of the biggest squeals so far. Everyone covered their ears, but she was so happy she didn't even notice "oh isn't that so cute eeeeeeeeeep!" she squealed again looking happy Ares was transitioning from smiling at her when she looked at him and wincing when she was squealing

"**Reconciliation," she said. "Athena and Poseidon together."**

Aphrodite was practically glowing now "aww that would actually be a cute couple" she looked toward the two gods who both gagged

"NO!" they both yelled out Aphrodite pouted then smiled

"Oh well your children are more than enough for me"

**My face felt a little warm, but I managed a smile. "Thanks."**

"**And take this," Grover said. He handed me a flattened tin can that he'd probably been saving in his pocket for a thousand miles. "The satyrs stand behind you."**

"Less cute but still a sweet gesture I guess" Aphrodite shrugged

"**Grover... I don't know what to say."**

"Awww" the girls cooed

"Oh shut up" Percy blushed Thalia Nico and Hazel laughed

**He patted me on the shoulder. I stuffed the tin can in my back pocket. **

"**You all done saying good-bye?" Ares came toward me, his black leather duster trailing behind him, his sword glinting like fire in the sunrise. "I've been fighting for eternity, kid. My strength is unlimited and I cannot die. **

Poseidon froze again all this was true, how could his son win this. The heroes of old were thinking the same thing

**What have you got?"**

**A smaller ego, I thought, but I said nothing. **

Ares rolled his eyes but didn't say anything

**I kept my feet in the surf, backing into the water up to my ankles. I thought back to what Annabeth had said at the Denver diner, so long ago: ****_Ares has strength. That's all he has. Even strength has to how to wisdom sometimes._**

"She'd be happy to know that you listen to her"

"Of course I listen to her if I didn't I would have been dead a long time ago"

**He cleaved downward at my head, but I wasn't there. **

**My body thought for me. The water seemed to push me into the air and I catapulted over him, slashing as I came down. **

"Good but bad, you jumped away from the surf you need that advantage to win" Athena stated her mind in battle strategy mode

**But Ares was just as quick. He twisted, and the strike that should've caught him directly in the spine was deflected off the end of his sword hilt. **

Everyone was listening aptly

**He grinned. "Not bad, not bad."**

"Wow that a huge compliment coming from Ares" Apollo stated

**He slashed again and I was forced to jump onto dry land. **

"See" Athena stated

"Yes we get it my sons in trouble now can everybody please shut up"

"You're the only one talking" Hermes offered Poseidon glared and Apollo snorted Percy did to he couldn't help it that was funny

**I tried to sidestep, to get back to the water, but Ares seemed to know what I wanted. He outmaneuvered me, pressing so hard I had to put all my concentration on not getting sliced into pieces. **

"Yeah don't do that"

**I kept backing away from the surf. I couldn't find any openings to attack. His sword had a reach several feet longer than Anaklusmos. **

"Get in close" Theseus said "if you have the shorter blade you have to get close"

"Ares will be expecting that" Perseus commented

"Yeah but he won't win if he doesn't handle his sword properly, besides if he's in close he'll be able to at least defend himself a bit better than trying to fight him farther away"

**_Get in close_****, Luke had told me once, back in our sword class. ****_When you've got the shorter blade, get in close. _**

Percy cringed a bit, but Theseus smiled "see he knows what he's talking about"

**I stepped inside with a thrust, but Ares was waiting for that. He knocked my blade out of my hands and kicked me in the chest.**

"Easier to defend" Orion said looking at Theseus

"For a more trained fighter it would be, ok"

** I went airborne–twenty, maybe thirty feet. I would've broken my back if I hadn't crashed into the soft sand of a dune.**

Percy let out a small groan and curled in on himself a bit

"Oh shit the curse. Are you ok Percy?" Nico stated everyone turned to the hero

"I'm fine just a bit out of breath I've had worse keep reading"

"**Percy!" Annabeth yelled. "Cops!"**

**I was seeing double. My chest felt like it had just been hit with a battering ram, but I managed to get to my feet. **

"Just out of breathe" Hazel asked raising her eyebrows at him

"You went on a quest with me you know I've had worse"

**I couldn't look away from Ares for fear he'd slice me in half, **

'No way kid this is a fair fight, only cowards strike when their opponents back is turned' Ares stated

**but out of the corner of my eye I saw red lights flashing on the shoreline boulevard. Car doors were slamming. **

"**There, officer!" somebody yelled. "See?"**

**A gruff cop voice: "Looks like that kid on TV... what the heck..."**

"Oh great I almost forgot about the whole police thing how the heck did you manage to talk your way out of that one"

"I didn't have to"

"Seriously" Orion asked

"Just listen"

"**That guy's armed," another cop said. "Call for backup."**

**I rolled to one side as Ares's blade slashed the sand. **

Poseidon held his breath

**I ran for my sword, scooped it up, and launched a swipe at Ares's face, only to find my blade deflected again. **

**Ares seemed to know exactly what I was going to do the moment before I did it. **

Ares smirked "you've got no hope in beating me kid"

**I stepped back toward the surf, forcing him to follow. **

Athena nodded her mind going a mile a minute thinking of ways Percy could win this

"**Admit it, kid," Ares said. "You got no hope. I'm just toying with you."**

**My senses were working overtime. I now understood what Annabeth had said about ADHD keeping you alive in battle. I was wide awake, noticing every little detail. **

'Yeah it's pretty convenient"

"What about the kids who don't have ADHD"

"There are kids who don't" Thalia asked

"Frank doesn't" Hazel said "he's a son of mars"

"That's probably why then" Theseus answered "mars is known for battle strategy like Athena right so his kids don't need it they have good senses without it; some of them might get it but some of them won't"

"How do you know about romans you're Greek"

"I've been here for a couple of days now and the minute I heard about you romans I decided to do some research" Theseus stated

"That was very smart of you" Athena said Theseus smiled proudly

"Teachers pet" Orion coughed Theseus glared at his brother and Percy laughed

**I could see where Ares was tensing. I could tell which way he would strike. At the same time, I was aware of Annabeth and Grover, thirty feet to my left. I saw a second cop car pulling up, siren wailing. Spectators, people who had been wandering the streets because of the earthquake, were starting to gather. **

"I wonder what they see through the mist"

**Among the crowd, I thought I saw a few who were walking with the strange, trotting gait of disguised satyrs. There were shimmering forms of spirits, too, as if the dead had risen from Hades to watch the battle. I heard the flap of leathery wings circling somewhere above. **

"Furies, Hades probably sent them"

**More sirens. **

**I stepped farther into the water, but Ares was fast. The tip of his blade ripped my sleeve and grazed my forearm. **

Poseidon eyes narrowed at Ares who gulped

**A police voice on a megaphone said, "Drop the guns. Set them on the ground. Now!"**

"Guns" they all questioned except the heroes of old who were wondering what the heck guns were

**Guns?**

**I looked at Ares's weapon, and it seemed to be flickering; sometimes it looked like a shotgun, sometimes a two-handed sword. I didn't know what the humans were seeing in my hands, but I was pretty sure it wouldn't make them like me. **

"Well you do manage to have some good luck even with all your bad and you're not in jail so I'm assuming it worked out ok for you" Thalia stated

**Ares turned to glare at our spectators, which gave me a moment to breathe. **

Athena sat back in her chair "how unwise"

"You wouldn't be saying that if it was your daughter fighting him"

"My daughters not stupid enough to challenge a god; besides I never said I wanted your son dead I'm just stating an honest fact" Poseidon had no response so he just stuck his tongue out at her Athena rolled her eyes

**There were five police cars now, and a line of officers crouching behind them, pistols trained on us. **

"**This is a private matter!" Ares bellowed. "Be gone."**

**He swept his hand, and a wall of red flame rolled across the patrol cars. **

"Ares don't hurt the mortals" Hestia said

"I haven't done it yet" Ares said in exasperation honestly how many times did he have to say that

**The police barely had time to dive for cover before their vehicles exploded. **

"I hope none of them were hurt"

"They were fine lady Hestia, their cars on the other hand well…"

**The crowd behind them scattered, screaming.**

**Ares roared with laughter. "Now, little hero. Let's add you to the barbecue."**

"Do it and die" Poseidon threatened

**He slashed. I deflected his blade. I got close enough to strike, tried to fake him out with a feint, but my blow was knocked aside. The waves were hitting me in the back now. **

Athena sat up a bit he definitely had something planned she thought

**Ares was up to his thighs, wading in after me.**

"Well that's a dumb move" Hermes said

**I felt the rhythm of the sea, the waves growing larger as the tide rolled in, and suddenly I had an idea.**

Athena smiled she hoped it was a good one

**_Little waves_****, I thought. And the water behind me seemed to recede. I was holding back the tide by force of will, but tension was building, like carbonation behind a cork.**

"Nice" Hermes stated Percy smiled Ares scowled

**Ares came toward, grinning confidently. I lowered my blade, as if I were too exhausted to go on. **

"And you fell for that" Apollo laughed "come on Ares that's the oldest trick in the book"

"Shut up" Ares growled

**_Wait for it_****, I told the sea. The pressure now was almost lifting me off my feet. Ares raised his sword. I released the tide and jumped, rocketing straight over Ares on a wave. **

"Awesome" Nico said in awe "see I bet you could surf"

**A six-foot wall of water smashed him full in the face, leaving him cursing and sputtering with a mouth full of seaweed. I landed behind him with a splash and feinted toward his head, as I'd done before. He turned in time to raise his sword, but this time he was disoriented, he didn't anticipate the trick. **

Ares scowled as people around him cheered he wanted so much to punch that stupid kid for making him look like and idiot, but with old seaweed here it wouldn't end well for him if he did so Ares decided to just sulk and scowl in his throne

**I changed direction, lunged to the side, and stabbed Riptide straight down into the water, sending the point through the god's heel. **

Whoops and cheers erupted from the room the heroes of old and Hazel and Jason were shocked Hercules looked away hiding his shock no way this had to be dumb luck

**The roar that followed made Hades's earthquake look like a minor event. The very sea was blasted back from Ares, leaving a wet circle of sand fifty feet wide. **

"Aww is little Ares angry" Hermes found himself with a sword at his throat from an angry Ares and he squeaked out "just kidding"

**Ichor, the golden blood of the gods, flowed from a gash in the war god's boot. The expression on his face was beyond hatred. It was pain, shock, complete disbelief that he'd been wounded. **

Poseidon let out the breathe he had been holding he couldn't believe that his son had done that

**He limped toward me, muttering ancient Greek curses. **

**Something stopped him. **

**It was as if a cloud covered the sun, but worse. Light faded. Sound and color drained away. A cold, heavy presence passed over the beach, slowing time, dropping the temperature to freezing, and making me feel like life was hopeless, fighting was useless. **

The room grew cold and dark as the atmosphere tensed the earlier joy at Percy's victory forgotten as the seriousness of the situation settled in

**The darkness lifted. **

**Ares looked stunned.**

The gods did as well

**Police cars were burning behind us. The crowd of spectators had fled. Annabeth and Grover stood on the beach, in shock, watching the water flood back around Ares's feet, his glowing golden ichor dissipating in the tide. **

**Ares lowered his sword.**

"**You have made an enemy, godling," he told me. "You have sealed your fate. Every time you raise your blade in battle, every time you hope for success, you will feel my curse. Beware, Perseus Jackson. Beware."**

"You did not just curse my son"

"I didn't my future self did"

"Either way that's a serious curse" Athena said looking a bit worried "that could ultimately get him killed"

"How come I didn't know about this curse" Thalia and Nico asked

"It's already happened"

"What when"

"You'll see"

**His body began to glow. **

"Don't look" Hazel stated

"I know" Percy said smiling Hazel blushed

"**Percy!" Annabeth shouted. "Don't watch!"**

**I turned away as the god Ares revealed his true immortal form. I somehow knew that if I looked, I would disintegrate into ashes. **

"Chiron skipped out on telling me that" Percy said

"What he didn't tell you" Hazel said shocked

"It's in the video" Nico stated

"I really have to watch that video" Percy said

**The light died. **

**I looked back. Ares was gone. The tide rolled out to reveal Hades's bronze helm of darkness. **

Hades smirked good he got his helm back

**I picked it up and walked toward my friends. **

**But before I got there, I heard the flapping of leathery wings. Three evil-looking grandmothers with lace hats and fiery whips **

"Really if they're not in disguise did they have to wear the hats?"

**drifted down from the sky and landed in front of me. **

**The middle Fury, the one who had been Mrs. Dodds, stepped forward. Her fangs were bared, but for once she didn't look threatening. She looked more disappointed,**

"Well she doesn't get to drag you into the underworld and kill you so yeah she would be"

"Thanks for that mental image Nico, I needed that" Percy replied sarcastically

"No problem Perce any time"

**as if she'd been planning to have me for supper, but had decided I might give her indigestion. **

"**We saw the whole thing," she hissed. "So... it truly was not you?"**

**I tossed her the helmet, which she caught in surprise.**

"**Return that to Lord Hades," I said. "Tell him the truth. Tell him to call off the war."**

"You just gave up your bargaining chip to get your mother back"

"I figured uncle was a man of his word and would give my mom back once he got his helm back and learned the truth" Percy stated Hades regarded his nephew and almost smiled…almost

**She hesitated, then ran a forked tongue over her green, leathery lips. "Live well, Percy Jackson. Become a true hero. Because if you do not, if you ever come into my clutches again..."**

"She really doesn't like you" Nico said

**She cackled, savoring the idea. Then she and her sisters rose on their bats' wings, fluttered into the smoke-filled sky, and disappeared. **

**I joined Grover and Annabeth, who were staring at me in amazement. **

"Duh you just won against a god"

Percy blushed "I didn't really win if it hadn't been for him Ares would have sliced me in half I'm sure of it"

"Still won"

"**Percy..." Grover said. "That was so incredibly..."**

"**Terrifying," said Annabeth. **

"More like awesome"

"**Cool!" Grover corrected.**

"Cool works to I guess"

**I didn't feel terrified. **

"Really?"

**I certainly didn't feel cool. I was tired and sore and completely drained of energy. **

"The quest isn't over yet you still have to get the bolt to Zeus" Athena stated

"In one day? It took them long enough to get there how are they going to get back?"

"**Did you guys feel that... whatever it was?" I asked.**

**They both nodded uneasily.**

"**Must've been the Furies overhead," Grover said. **

"We wish" Apollo stated

**But I wasn't so sure. Something had stopped Ares from killing me, and whatever could do that was a lot stronger than the Furies. **

"And a lot more active than we thought" Apollo stated loudly Zeus ignored him and Apollo sighed

**I looked at Annabeth, and an understanding passed between us. I knew now what was in that pit, what had spoken from the entrance of Tartarus. **

"We need to talk about this Zeus"

"Later" said Zeus and the other gods had to admit it was better than a no

**I reclaimed my backpack from Grover and looked inside. The master bolt was still there. Such a small thing to almost cause World War III. **

"It's not small" Zeus argued

"**We have to get back to New York," I said. "By tonight."**

"**That's impossible," Annabeth said, "unless we–"**

"**Fly," I agreed. **

"Oh great" said Poseidon

"Well it is the only way" Orion said

"Besides that Zeus won't shoot him down when he's carrying his bolt"

**She stared at me. "Fly, like, in an airplane, which you were warned never to do lest Zeus strike you out of the sky, and carrying a weapon that has more destructive power than a nuclear bomb?"**

"**Yeah," I said. "Pretty much exactly like that. Come on."**

"You never change do you" Hazel said laughing

"I change plenty" Percy laughed

"Who's reading next" Nico asked holding up the book Percy was about to volunteer but Jason beat him to it

"I'll read"

"Actually I should read this next one" Percy said

"Why" Jason asked

"I have a feeling the last chapters not going to be the best for me"

"What…? Never mind fine" Jason tossed the book to Percy

"Thanks"

AN: yay another chapter down and two more to go I'm so excited to finish the first book and start on the second :) also to **The1stillwaiting** the answer to the riddle is a stamp… I think… I remember being asked that one before because I have a riddle app that I like to play I'm sure that's what it is let me know. :D I love riddles and trivia (but only on subjects I know like Greek mythology and harry potter and superheroes and such lol I'm a nerd). Thanks again to all my readers I'll try to get the next chapter up quickly and hopefully with Avid reader0907's help I'll be able to. PLEASE REVIEW I really like all the feedback it helps me keep up energy in writing also I think it would be super cool to break 1000 :)


	28. Chapter 28

AN: hey everybody thanks for all your reviews and understanding I'm so pumped up for writing right now. I've actually started writing my own novel and I think I'm going to try to self-publish it on nook because I found out that there's a way to do that, anyway I'm kind of excited for that so I thought I'd share the news. I also wanted to let you know that I will still be doing this story and I won't discontinue it I promise you! Now on to the disclaimer and then the story…

DISCLAIMER: I wish I could write like rick riordan does, sad to say, I cannot as I am not him so I own nothing :)

**"I Settle My Tab" **Percy read

"Yay I get my bolt back" Zeus celebrated Hera rolled her eyes at her husband

**It's funny how humans can wrap their mind around things and fit them into their version of reality. Chiron had told me that long ago. As usual, I didn't appreciate his wisdom until much later.**

Those who knew Percy really well (Nico Thalia and Hazel) snorted

**According to the L.A. news, the explosion at the Santa Monica beach had been caused when a crazy kidnapper fired a shotgun at a police car. He accidentally hit a gas main that had ruptured during the earthquake.  
**"How convenient" Hera stated

"Now which one of you is the crazy kidnapper?" Hermes asked

"Well Percy's got the crazy part" Thalia joked Percy did the adult thing and stuck his tongue out her Thalia retaliated similarly and Nico rolled his eyes

**This crazy kidnapper (a.k.a. Ares) was the same man who had abducted me and two other adolescents in New York and brought us across country on a ten-day odyssey of terror.  
**Ares scowled, Hermes was laughing, and Hestia smiled "well at least it worked out well for you guys"

**Poor little Percy Jackson wasn't an international criminal after all. He'd caused a commotion on that Greyhound bus in New Jersey trying to get away from his captor (and afterward, witnesses would even swear they had seen the leather-clad man on the bus-"Why didn't I remember him before?").  
**"The mist you got to love it" Nico stated

"Well most of the time anyway" Percy added and Nico nodded in consent

**The crazy man had caused the explosion in the St. Louis Arch. After all, no kid could've done that.**

"If any kid could manage that it would be Percy"

"Hey techniquely a chimera did it not me"

** A concerned waitress in Denver had seen the man threatening his abductees outside her diner, gotten a friend to take a photo, and notified the police. Finally, brave Percy Jackson **

Percy was smiling and a few of the others looked slightly amused

**(I was beginning to like this kid,)**

Now everyone was snickering or outright laughing

** had stolen a gun from his captor in Los Angeles and battled him shotgun-to-rifle on the beach.**

"So that's what they saw in your hand, a rifle"

"Yeah but isn't it weird they saw guns; I mean what did they see, Ares and Percy swinging guns around like swords" Nico asked

"Who knows the mist is confusing"

** Police had arrived just in time. But in the spectacular explosion, five police cars had been destroyed and the captor had fled. No fatalities had occurred. Percy Jackson and his two friends were safely in police custody.  
The reporters fed us this whole story. We just nodded and acted tearful and exhausted (which wasn't hard), and played victimized kids for the cameras.  
**"Must have been easy"

"Trust me it was" Percy nodded

"Have you ever met someone who saw you on the TV as a fugitive"

"Surprisingly not that many; although Paul's family did, it was a bit of a nasty shock for them when they came to meet me and my mom" **( AN: yes I know this never happens, but I always thought it would be interesting to see Paul's side of the family meet Percy and maybe the gods. I've wanted to read a story like that for a while but I didn't want to write it. One time I found one and it was ok I didn't like how they rushed through the plot it was like they met then bang that's it. Also, really no one Percy meets ever remembers him; how do people just forget the kid that caused a worldwide man hunt, even if he was innocent you'd think someone would remember him… but I digress. There are actually a lot of stories that I've wanted to read like what would it be like if the big three pact hadn't been made and percy and thalia and nico had brothers percy would still be the main character but seeing him with brothers would be cool.)**

"How'd that go"

"Well let's just say they have me pegged as a delinquent child and they feel so sorry for my mom" Percy stated smiling

"Doesn't that hurt a bit"

"Naw I'm used to adults calling me a delinquent, I actually thought it was kind of fun especially because I have this cousin that's totally terrified of me, it kind of made my day"

"Percy Thalia scolded"

"In my defense the kid was a jerk, he was one of those kids who bosses his parents around"

Artemis scowled filthy boy she thought to herself

**"All I want," I said, choking back my tears, "is to see my loving stepfather again.**

Everyone stared at Percy in shock "I'm sorry what" Thalia asked incredulously

"Wait for it" Percy said a sly smile on his face

** Every time I saw him on TV, calling me a delinquent punk, I knew … somehow … we would be okay. And I know he'll want to reward each and every person in this beautiful city of Los Angeles with a free major appliance from his store. Here's the phone number."  
**"nice" everyone burst into laughter except Thalia who instead looked concerned

"Wasn't he angry at you for that I mean did he…" she trailed off awkwardly

"Don't worry I was fine" Percy stated Thalia didn't look convinced after all Percy always said he was fine

**The police and reporters were so moved that they passed around the hat and raised money for three tickets on the next plane to New York.  
**"I can't believe your flying" Thalia said looking slightly pale at the thought

**I knew there was no choice but to fly. I hoped Zeus would cut me some slack, considering the circumstances. But it was still hard to force myself on board the flight.  
**Thalia shivered slightly at the very thought, and Percy grimaced at the memory

**Takeoff was a nightmare. Every spot of turbulence was scarier than a Greek monster. I didn't unclench my hands from the armrests until we touched down safely at La Guardia.**

"Give me a monster any day" Percy stated

"Agreed" Nico agreed. Thalia nodded slightly, but it was barely noticeable, and only Percy caught it. He felt a bit guilty when he realized everyone was going to find out about her fear and he was not looking forward to her reaction when they did.

** The local press was waiting for us outside security, but we managed to evade them thanks to Annabeth, who lured them away in her invisible Yankees cap, shouting, "They're over by the frozen yogurt! Come on!" then rejoined us at baggage claim.  
We split up at the taxi stand.**

"Why" Hazel asked

"Well I figured I should take it up myself just in case things didn't go well"

"Knowing you that was probably a good choice" Thalia stated

** I told Annabeth and Grover to get back to Half-Blood Hill and let Chiron know what had happened. They protested, and it was hard to let them go after all we'd been through, but I knew I had to do this last part of the quest by myself.**

Artemis glared it's just like a boy to take all the credit for the quest

** If things went wrong, if the gods didn't believe me … I wanted Annabeth and Grover to survive to tell Chiron the truth.  
**Artemis didn't change her mind despite this he would still probably take credit for it that's what males did after all

**I hopped in a taxi and headed into Manhattan.  
Thirty minutes later, I walked into the lobby of the Empire State Building.  
I must have looked like a homeless kid, with my tattered clothes and my scraped-up face. I hadn't slept in at least twenty-four hours.  
**Poseidon looked concerned for his son and he was beginning to get nervous about his sons meeting with Zeus

**I went up to the guard at the front desk and said, "Six hundredth floor."  
**"If that works we'll have to fire the doorman" Hera stated

**He was reading a huge book with a picture of a wizard on the front.**

"Harry potter" Nico guessed

Percy shrugged "I wasn't really thinking about his book then I was more concentrated on getting this bolt to Olympus"

** I wasn't much into fantasy,**

"How can you not like fantasy" Nico asked Percy looking at him like he was insane

"My life is a fantasy I don't need anymore, besides I don't really like reading in general" Athena looked scandalized at Percy's comment

** but the book must've been good, because the guard took a while to look up. "No such floor, kiddo."  
"I need an audience with Zeus."  
**"Imagine if he was an actual mortal" Nico laughed

**He gave me a vacant smile. "Sorry?"  
"You heard me."  
I was about to decide this guy was just a regular mortal, and I'd better run for it before he called the straitjacket patrol,**

Nico laughed "that would be so funny"

"Ooh yeah it would be hilarious" Percy said sarcastically

** when he said, "No appointment, no audience, kiddo. Lord Zeus doesn't see anyone unannounced."  
"Oh, I think he'll make an exception." I slipped off my backpack and unzipped the top.  
**Hermes laughed "good one"

**The guard looked inside at the metal cylinder, not getting what it was for a few seconds. Then his face went pale. "That isn't…"  
"Yes, it is," I promised. "You want me take it out and-"  
**"Percy your hilarious" Apollo and Hermes were laughing and the others looked amused

**"No! No!" He scrambled out of his seat, fumbled around his desk for a key card, then handed it to me. "Insert this in the security slot. Make sure nobody else is in the elevator with you."  
**"Obviously" Thalia stated

"I wonder if that's ever happened before" we looked to the gods who all looked at one another

"Once" Hermes said "long story short the poor human is now residing in a mental hospital"

**I did as he told me. As soon as the elevator doors closed, I slipped the key into the slot. The card disappeared and a new button appeared on the console, a red one that said 600.  
I pressed it and waited, and waited.  
**"And waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, and…"

"APOLLO SHUT UP"

**Music played. "Raindrops keep falling on my head…."  
**everyone looked at Apollo who was in charge of the elevator music "what I thought it was funny" Artemis rolled her eyes at her brother

**Finally, ding. The doors slid open. I stepped out and almost had a heart attack.  
**"Why?" the gods looked nervous now what had happened to Olympus

**I was standing on a narrow stone walkway in the middle of the air. Below me was Manhattan, from the height of an airplane. In front of me, white marble steps wound up the spine of a cloud, into the sky. My eyes followed the stairway to its end, where my brain just could not accept what I saw.  
**The gods settled down knowing it was just Percy's reaction to seeing Olympus

**Look again, my brain said.  
We're looking, my eyes insisted. It's really there.  
**"See" Thalia said "crazy"

Percy smiled "I never said I wasn't"

**From the top of the clouds rose the decapitated peak of a mountain, its summit covered with snow. Clinging to the mountainside were dozens of multileveled palaces-a city of mansions-all with white-columned porticos, gilded terraces, and bronze braziers glowing with a thousand fires. Roads wound crazily up to the peak, where the largest palace gleamed against the snow. Precariously perched gardens bloomed with olive trees and rosebushes. I could make out an open-air market filled with colorful tents, a stone amphitheater built on one side of the mountain, a hippodrome and a coliseum on the other. It was an Ancient Greek city, except it wasn't in ruins. It was new, and clean, and colorful, the way Athens must've looked twenty-five hundred years ago.  
**"Wow" Hazel stated eyes wide the heroes of old looked just as much in awe as Hazel did Jason looked confused

"How come it looks different in our time" he asked

"Well Olympus had a bit of a remodel"

"Why what's wrong with it" Hera asked

"You'll see"

"I'm beginning to ate that answer"

**This place can't be here, I told myself. The tip of a mountain hanging over New York City like a billion-ton asteroid? How could something like that be anchored above the Empire State Building, in plain sight of millions of people, and not get noticed?  
**"The mist"

"I know I was just in shock"

**But here it was. And here I was.  
My trip through Olympus was a daze. I passed some giggling wood nymphs who threw olives at me from their garden.**

"What is it with you and nymphs" Hazel asked

"What do you mean" Thalia asked

"Well while we were at the roman camp the Aurae appeared quite frequently in front of Percy always giggling it was weird" Thalia looked at Percy with raised eyebrows and Percy shrugged a blush on his cheeks

**Hawkers in the market offered to sell me ambrosia-on-a-stick, and a new shield, and a genuine glitter-weave replica of the Golden Fleece, as seen on Hephaestus-TV The nine muses were tuning their instruments for a concert in the park while a small crowd gathered-satyrs and naiads and a bunch of good-looking teenagers who might've been minor gods and goddesses. Nobody seemed worried about an impending civil war. In fact, everybody seemed in a festive mood. Several of them turned to watch me pass, and whispered to themselves.  
**"You should see them now" Thalia stated Percy was a legend

**I climbed the main road, toward the big palace at the peak. It was a reverse copy of the palace in the Underworld.  
**Zeus shot a look at his brother, not quite knowing what to feel at that piece of information; although he did feel a slight twinge of guilt

**There, everything had been black and bronze. Here, everything glittered white and silver.  
I realized Hades must've built his palace to resemble this one. He wasn't welcomed in Olympus except on the winter solstice, so he'd built his own Olympus underground.**

Hestia looked at Hades a sad look on her face; it wasn't fair really all the gods had done disgraceful things why was Hades the only one banished from Olympus.

** Despite my bad experience with him, I felt a little sorry for the guy. To be banished from this place seemed really unfair. It would make anybody bitter.  
**The guilt Zeus felt grew bigger

Hades huffed he didn't like how this demigod seemed to understand his emotions so well and he hated that they were now being said to the rest of the gods; it hurt his pride

**Steps led up to a central courtyard. Past that, the throne room.** **Room really isn't the right word.**

"No" Percy said looking at the room they were in now "no it is not"

Zeus puffed out his chest in pride, that's right, he thought my home rocks; Olympus is awesome

** The place made Grand Central Station look like a broom closet. Massive columns rose to a domed ceiling, which was gilded with moving constellations.  
Twelve thrones, built for beings the size of Hades, were arranged in an inverted U, just like the cabins at Camp Half-Blood. An enormous fire crackled in the central hearth pit.**

"The heart of Olympus" Percy stated Hestia smiled at him and Percy smiled back

** The thrones were empty except for two at the end: the head throne on the right, and the one to its immediate left.**

"Not only is it Zeus, but your father as well tough luck" Hermes stated

"Isn't it a good thing that his father's there, I mean the kids finally going to meet his dad" Apollo replied

"Have you met our family, trust me things never work out that well"

"Good point" Apollo stated. Poseidon looked very nervous after all he was really not good with emotions and he always seemed to say the wrong thing

** I didn't have to be told who the two gods were that were sitting there, waiting for me to approach. I came toward them, my legs trembling.  
**"Percy is actually afraid of the gods, wow that's a first"

"Well once you get over the fact that they can kill you with a snap of their fingers it isn't too bad"

"How do you get over that" Hazel asked the heroes of old wondered the same thing

"It's Percy" Nico said that was the only good explanation he had because there was no other demigod that did what Percy did

**The gods were in giant human form, as Hades had been, but I could barely look at them without feeling a tingle, as if my body were starting to burn. Zeus, the Lord of the Gods, wore a dark blue pinstriped suit. He sat on a simple throne of solid platinum. He had a well-trimmed beard, marbled gray and black like a storm cloud. His face was proud and handsome and grim, his eyes rainy gray.  
As I got nearer to him, the air crackled and smelled of ozone.**

Zeus shrugged, like Hades, he too found his description to be an okay one nothing overly offensive so he accepted it

Poseidon bounced in his chair in excitement although he was worried he was also excited to hear his description **  
The god sitting next to him was his brother, without a doubt,**

The 2 gods looked at each other "really" Poseidon stated "because I don't think I look a thing like him" Zeus nodded

Hera sighed "honestly you two are so alike it's annoying; that's probably why you fight so much and that goes for Hades as well"

Hades blanched "me look like them, not a chance" the three brothers adamantly refused to accept that they were alike and the rest of the gods sighed or rolled their eyes at the them

** but he was dressed very differently. He reminded me of a beachcomber from Key West. He wore leather sandals, khaki Bermuda shorts, and a Tommy Bahama shirt with coconuts and parrots all over it. His skin was deeply tanned, his hands scarred like an old-time fisherman's. His hair was black, like mine. His face had that same brooding look that had always gotten me branded a rebel. But his eyes, seagreen like mine,**

"it's kind of creepy how similar you two are" Apollo said "I mean it's been brought up before but it's so weird. Once Percy becomes an adult he could virtually be your twin uncle P"

"not only does Percy look the like his father more than any of his other sons, but he also seems to have much more power than any other as well; maybe they go hand in hand" Athena mused really Percy was one big conundrum and it annoyed Athena immensely that she could not figure him out

** were surrounded by sun-crinkles that told me he smiled a lot, too.  
His throne was a deep-sea fisherman's chair. It was the simple swiveling kind, with a black leather seat and a built-in holster for a fishing pole. Instead of a pole, the holster held a bronze trident, flickering with green light around the tips.  
**"I like my description" said Poseidon "it's very nice"

"well duh didn't we say that you two look exactly alike, calling you ugly would be like calling himself ugly" Hermes stated making a few of the gods and demigods snort

**The gods weren't moving or speaking, but there was tension in the air, as if they'd just finished an argument.  
**"well at least we know you 2 haven't changed at all"

**I approached the fisherman's throne and knelt at his feet. "Father." **

"Should you not address the master of the house first boy" Zeus stated indignantly

"come on brother I'm his father its only right"

"They really don't change" Percy stated to himself

**I dared not look up. My heart was racing. I could feel the energy emanating from the two gods. If I said the wrong thing, I had no doubt they could blast me into dust.  
**"and you said you got over that feeling how again" hazel asked

"I just learned to ignore it" Percy said shrugging

**To my left, Zeus spoke. "Should you not address the master of this house first, boy?"  
**the gods snorted and Zeus blushed lightly

**I kept my head down, and waited.  
"Peace, brother," Poseidon finally said. His voice stirred my oldest memories: that warm glow I remembered as a baby, the sensation of this god's hand on my forehead, "The boy defers to his father. This is only right."  
**"well Poseidon at least changes a little as for Zeus naw he's still the same old stick in the mud" Apollo joked Zeus glared at him

**"You still claim him then?" Zeus asked, menacingly. "You claim this child whom you sired against our sacred oath?"**

"Of course I claim him, he's my son and a good one at that" Poseidon stated Percy kept his eyes on the book but he felt secretly pleased by his father's words even if he was still a bit angry with the god

**"I have admitted my wrongdoing," Poseidon said. "Now I would hear him speak."  
**"harsh" Apollo stated Percy flinched slightly in his seat

Poseidon looked at the book incredulously yes perhaps he wasn't supposed to have Percy but he'd never think of him as a wrong doing the boy was his son and he had more than proven himself thus

Thalia and Nico looked a bit shocked it was hard to believe that their first meeting had gone so awry after all Percy and Poseidon had a great father son relationship well as great as one can have as a demigod but then they reasoned Percy was angry at Poseidon and they both knew it wasn't just over that test something else was bothering Percy

**Wrongdoing.  
A lump welled up in my throat. Was that all I was? A wrongdoing? The result of a god's mistake?**

"No of course not" he said. My future self is an idiot Poseidon thought groaning this was going much worse than he expected; hell he hadn't even addressed his son yet and he had already messed up

**"I have spared him once already," Zeus grumbled. "Daring to fly through my domain … pah! I should have blasted him out of the sky for his impudence."  
**"and risk your precious bolt please" Hera stated

**"And risk destroying your own master bolt?" Poseidon asked calmly. "Let us hear him out, brother."  
Zeus grumbled some more. "I shall listen," he decided. "Then I shall make up my mind whether or not to cast this boy down from Olympus."  
**"and you wonder why everyone blames you when it comes to Hephaestus" Poseidon stated to which Zeus glared at him

"Poor boy" Hestia said "just kneeling there listening to all this it can't do much for the nerves"

**"Perseus," Poseidon said. "Look at me."**

Perseus looked up and then shook his head, it had been a while since they had called Percy by his full name and the old hero had forgotten to ignore it. His friends laughed and Perseus just pouted arms crossed a small blush on his face

**I did, and I wasn't sure what I saw in his face. There was no clear sign of love or approval. Nothing to encourage me.**

Poseidon winced, he did love his son but it wasn't easy showing emotion especially such emotions as love and definitely not in front of his brother. But then maybe that was his problem, was it so bad to show love; after all just because you loved someone didn't make you weak if anything it made you stronger. Percy had proven that with his love for his friends and his mother he had managed to do things no demigod had done before and much more, if his friend's admiration of him was anything to go by. Perhaps Poseidon thought it was time to change.

** It was like looking at the ocean: some days, you could tell what mood it was in. Most days, though, it was unreadable, mysterious.  
I got the feeling Poseidon really didn't know what to think of me. He didn't know whether he was happy to have me as a son or not.**

Poseidon wanted to object to tell his son how much he loved him and was proud of him but his voice just wouldn't work; a part of him still didn't want to show this emotion not in front of the others. Poseidon sighed this changing thing was a lot harder than it seemed

** In a strange way, I was glad that Poseidon was so distant. If he'd tried to apologize, or told me he loved me, or even smiled, it would've felt fake.**

Poseidon sighed he was so confused was he supposed to show his emotion to his son or not, maybe he should consult with Aphrodite or Hera as they were the goddess of family and love, but Poseidon shook away that idea. Aphrodite was too much into gooey romantic stuff and Hera's version of family was seriously flawed. Then Poseidon smiled he'd ask Hestia. Yes if anyone knew how to help him it would be her.

** Like a human dad, making some lame excuse for not being around. I could live with that. After all, I wasn't sure about him yet, either.  
**Poseidon winced but Percy made no move to smile or comfort him he just kept his eyes firmly planted on the pages of the book

**"Address Lord Zeus, boy," Poseidon told me. "Tell him your story."  
**_"really, boy"_ Hestia said in Poseidon's head not wanting to make the awkwordness between father and son even more awkward Poseidon grimaced but thought this as good as any a time to ask "_can I ask you something at the end of this book"_

_"how about the end of this chapter, because if what's happening in the book now is anything to go on then you really need help_" Hestia said Poseidon nodded

_"Yes alright after the chapter then"_ and with that they both focused on the story as Percy read

**So I told Zeus everything, just as it had happened. I took out the metal cylinder, which began sparking in the Sky God's presence, and laid it at his feet.  
There was a long silence, broken only by the crackle of the hearth fire.  
**"I don't much like awkward silences" Hestia admitted the other gods smiled at her and Percy chuckled

**Zeus opened his palm. The lightning bolt flew into it. As he closed his fist, the metallic points flared with electricity, until he was holding what looked more like the classic thunderbolt, a twenty-foot javelin of arcing, hissing energy that made the hairs on my scalp rise.  
**Poseidon rolled his eyes so dramatic he thought

**"I sense the boy tells the truth," Zeus muttered. "But that Ares would do such a thing … it is most unlike him."  
"He is proud and impulsive," Poseidon said. "It runs in the family."  
**"well at least you can admit it" Hestia said

**"Lord?" I asked.  
They both said, "Yes?"  
**The gods all snorted "they would" the two mentioned gods had a slightly pink tinge to their cheeks

**"Ares didn't act alone. Someone else-something else- came up with the idea."  
I described my dreams, and the feeling I'd had on the beach, that momentary breath of evil that had seemed to stop the world, and made Ares back off from killing me.  
**"If Zeus's earlier reaction is anything to go by that's not going to go over well"

**"In the dreams," I said, "the voice told me to bring the bolt to the Underworld. Ares hinted that he'd been having dreams, too. I think he was being used, just as I was, to start a war."  
"You are accusing Hades, after all?" Zeus asked.  
**"How did you get me from that description" Hades stated looking irritated "I'm not evil good gods the way you talk it's as if I'm as bad as father"

"Not in a million years will you ever be as bad as father" Poseidon stated and Hades didn't know whether to take that statement as a compliment or not

**"No," I said. "I mean, Lord Zeus, I've been in the presence of Hades. This feeling on the beach was different. It was the same thing I felt when I got close to that pit. That was the entrance to Tartarus, wasn't it? Something powerful and evil is stirring down there … something even older than the gods."  
**the gods sighed it was pretty obvious that Zeus hadn't changed much so they weren't expecting much in response to this

**Poseidon and Zeus looked at each other. They had a quick, intense discussion in Ancient Greek. I only caught one word. Father.  
Poseidon made some kind of suggestion, but Zeus cut him off. Poseidon tried to argue. Zeus held up his hand angrily.**

"Good god Zeus by not acknowledging this threat you put this world in jeopardy" Hestia stated scolding her youngest brother Zeus looked away from Hestia who rolled her eyes in impatience

** "We will speak of this no more," Zeus said. "I must go personally to purify this thunderbolt in the waters of Lemnos, to remove the human taint from its metal."  
He rose and looked at me. His expression softened just a fraction of a degree.**

"Wow damn Percy you're a miracle worker"

** "You have done me a service, boy. Few heroes could have accomplished as much."  
"I had help, sir," I said. "Grover Underwood and Annabeth Chase-"  
**Artemis looked shocked Thalia smiled to herself she loved her lady Artemis but Artemis was different in her time she didn't have outright hatred toward men anymore, she still disliked them that would never change but she didn't judge them so harshly Percy had changed that in her and Thalia hoped Artemis would change now to into the goddess she had grown to love like family

**"To show you my thanks, I shall spare your life. I do not trust you, Perseus Jackson. I do not like what your arrival means for the future of Olympus. But for the sake of peace in the family, I shall let you live."  
**"wow that's pretty generous" Apollo stated. Hestia smiled Zeus did have a heart, but having to be the king of the gods often weighed heavily on his shoulders and family had been cast into the background. These books were going to help change that Hestia just knew it. She could feel change in the air and it was a good change; one they all needed.

**"Um … thank you, sir."  
**"it's so weird hearing you be so polite Perce"

**"Do not presume to fly again. Do not let me find you here when I return. Otherwise you shall taste this bolt. And it shall be your last sensation."  
Thunder shook the palace. With a blinding flash of lightning, Zeus was gone.  
I was alone in the throne room with my father. "Your uncle," Poseidon sighed, "has always had a flair for dramatic exits. I think he would've done well as the god of theater."  
**everyone laughed and Zeus grumbled a bit to himself

**An uncomfortable silence.  
**"awkward" Apollo sang out

**"Sir," I said, "what was in that pit?"  
Poseidon regarded me. "Have you not guessed?"  
"Kronos," I said. "The king of the Titans."  
**the room grew cold and dark at the formal title of the once king "what did we say about names"

"Sorry sorry I'm trying"

**Even in the throne room of Olympus, far away from Tartarus, the name Kronos darkened the room, made the hearth fire seem not quite so warm on my back.  
Poseidon gripped his trident.**

"The memories are not good ones" Poseidon said smiling wearily the other older gods and goddesses nodded

** "In the First War, Percy, Zeus cut our father Kronos into a thousand pieces, just as Kronos had done to his own father, Ouranos. Zeus cast Kronos's remains into the darkest pit of Tartarus. The Titan army was scattered, their mountain fortress on Etna destroyed, their monstrous allies driven to the farthest corners of the earth. And yet Titans cannot die, any more than we gods can. Whatever is left of Kronos is still alive in some hideous way, still conscious in his eternal pain, still hungering for power."  
**the whole room was quiet only listening to Percy's voice as he read

**"He's healing," I said. "He's coming back."  
Poseidon shook his head. "From time to time, over the eons, Kronos has stirred. He enters men's nightmares and breathes evil thoughts. He wakens restless monsters from the depths. But to suggest he could rise from the pit is another thing."  
**"not you to uncle P" Apollo stated

"Well you have to understand when you think about it, it does sound improbable"

"Improbable is not impossible" Athena stated

**"That's what he intends, Father" Poseidon was silent for a long time.  
"Lord Zeus has closed discussion on this matter. He will not allow talk of Kronos. You have completed your quest, child. That is all you need to do."  
**"well that's got to be frustrating beyond measure" Orion stated

"It was" Percy replied

**"But-" I stopped myself. Arguing would do no good.**

"Wow that's a first on Percy's part"

"It is not, I don't argue all the time, just most of the time"

** It would very possibly anger the only god who I had on my side. "As … as you wish, Father."  
A faint smile played on his lips. "Obedience does not come naturally to you, does it?"  
**everyone in the room snorted and Percy smiled "not at all"

**"No … sir."  
"I must take some blame for that, I suppose. The sea does not like to be restrained." He rose to his full height and took up his trident. Then he shimmered and became the size of a regular man, standing directly in front of me. "You must go, child. But first, know that your mother has returned."  
**the room lightened considerably the woman were pleased at this development Percy was beaming as he read

**I stared at him, completely stunned. "My mother?"  
"You will find her at home. Hades sent her when you recovered his helm. Even the Lord of Death pays his debts."  
**"well at least you acknowledge that much" Hades muttered to himself

**My heart was pounding. I couldn't believe it. "Do you … would you …"  
**Poseidon looked down saddened

**I wanted to ask if Poseidon would come with me to see her, but then I realized that was ridiculous. I imagined loading the God of the Sea into a taxi and taking him to the Upper East Side. If he'd wanted to see my mom all these years, he would have. And there was Smelly Gabe to think about.  
**there were many angry looks at the mention of said man they had forgotten about him

**Poseidon's eyes took on a little sadness. "When you return home, Percy, you must make an important choice. You will find a package waiting in your room."  
**"man Percy what is it with you and choices"

"I've been asking myself that question for years"

**"A package?"  
"You will understand when you see it. No one can choose your path, Percy. You must decide."  
I nodded, though I didn't know what he meant.  
**Nico laughed at that

**"Your mother is a queen among women," Poseidon said wistfully.  
"I had not met such a mortal woman in a thousand years. Still … I am sorry you were born, child. I have brought you a hero's fate, and a hero's fate is never happy. It is never anything but tragic."  
**Poseidon winced "that didn't come out right" he said grimacing

"No you think" Dionysus said sarcastically

**I tried not to feel hurt. Here was my own dad, telling me he was sorry I'd been born. "I don't mind, Father."  
**"aww" the woman cooed Percy was trying so hard for his father

"I still don't" Percy said but he didn't give Poseidon time to respond and read onward

**"Not yet, perhaps," he said. "Not yet. But it was an unforgivable mistake on my part."  
"I'll leave you then." I bowed awkwardly. "I-I won't bother you again."  
**Poseidon was hurt beyond measure he did not want his son to hate him or ignore him hell he couldn't stand Percy being angry with him right now, it just wasn't right he wanted Percy to trust him and believe in him

**I was five steps away when he called, "Perseus."  
I turned.  
There was a different light in his eyes, a fiery kind of pride. "You did well, Perseus. Do not misunderstand me. Whatever else you do, know that you are mine. You are a true son of the Sea God."  
**"well at least that was a slight improvement over the rest of the conversation" Percy was blushing he remembered that moment like it was yesterday he had felt undeniably happy and he wanted to feel that way again, but it was so hard when it felt like you had been left all alone. It hurt to know that his father may not have faith in him anymore, but did Percy really blame him, on their last quest to save Nico Percy had felt absolutely useless like he had done nothing at all for his team.

**As I walked back through the city of the gods, conversations stopped. The muses paused their concert. People and satyrs and naiads all turned toward me, their faces filled with respect and gratitude, and as I passed, they knelt, as if I were some kind of hero.  
**"you are a hero Percy, one of the best" Thalia whispered the last part to herself. Percy she had noticed had lost a lot of his self-confidence since shed last seen him what had happened to him

**Fifteen minutes later, still in a trance, I was back on the streets of Manhattan.  
I caught a taxi to my mom's apartment, rang the doorbell, and there she was-my beautiful mother, smelling of peppermint and licorice, the weariness and worry evaporating from her face as soon as she saw me.  
**the demigods smiled glad sally was really alright. Percy on the other hand, had a tight grip on the book knowing what was about to be discovered

**"Percy! Oh, thank goodness. Oh, my baby."  
She crushed the air right out of me. We stood in the hallway as she cried and ran her hands through my hair.  
**"awww" Aphrodite squealed "it's just too cute" she said sniffing a little and wiping away some tears from her eyes Ares stroked her hair a bit

**I'll admit it-my eyes were a little misty, too. I was shaking, I was so relieved to see her.  
**Percy sighed would he get the chance to be like that again with his mother, he had promised her he would make it home, that was something he didn't do often so he wanted to keep it and yet Percy still remembered vividly how his last promise had turned out

**She told me she'd just appeared at the apartment that morning, scaring Gabe half out of his wits. She didn't remember anything since the Minotaur, and couldn't believe it when Gabe told her I was a wanted criminal, traveling across the country, blowing up national monuments. She'd been going out of her mind with worry all day because she hadn't heard the news. Gabe had forced her to go into work, saying she had a month's salary to make up and she'd better get started.  
**Artemis glared her fists clenching "that no good lowlife" she said (well that's the pg version of what she said). Gods and goddesses alike looked horrified and angry Thalia was sparking and Nico looked ready to kill. Hazel and Jason and the heroes of old had only briefly met the woman of the past but sill they had taken to her kindness quickly and were just as equally pissed

**I swallowed back my anger and told her my own story. I tried to make it sound less scary than it had been, but that wasn't easy. I was just getting to the fight with Ares when Gabe's voice interrupted from the living room. "Hey, Sally! That meat loaf done yet or what?"  
**the glares intensified this was just getting worse and worse

**She closed her eyes. "He isn't going to be happy to see you, Percy. The store got half a million phone calls today from Los Angeles … something about free appliances."  
"Oh, yeah. About that…"  
She managed a weak smile. "Just don't make him angrier, all right? Come on."  
**"why would she care, she should just dump him like yesterday's fashion" Aphrodite urged "she has such a potential for a beautiful love life"

**In the month I'd been gone, the apartment had turned into Gabeland. Garbage was ankle deep on the carpet. The sofa had been reupholstered in beer cans. Dirty socks and underwear hung off the lampshades.  
**everyone turned a nasty shade of green "urgh" they shuddered at the imagery and Percy read on quickly before he was sick

**Gabe and three of his big goony friends were playing poker at the table.  
When Gabe saw me, his cigar dropped out of his mouth. His face got redder than lava. "You got nerve coming here, you little punk. I thought the police-"  
"He's not a fugitive after all," my mom interjected. "Isn't that wonderful, Gabe?"  
**"somehow I don't think he's going to agree with you sally" Apollo said to the book a few people cracked a smile but most were still pissed and who could blame them

**Gabe looked back and forth between us. He didn't seem to think my homecoming was so wonderful.  
"Bad enough I had to give back your life insurance money, Sally," he growled. "Get me the phone. I'll call the cops."  
**"that's it" Artemis said "as soon as it's the future I'm going to go down and I'm going to…" the rest of her sentence is too horrifying to repeat as it will scar many of the readers for life, just know Gabe will suffer.

**"Gabe, no!"  
He raised his eyebrows. "Did you just say 'no'? You think I'm gonna put up with this punk again? I can still press charges against him for ruining my Camaro."  
"But-"  
He raised his hand, and my mother flinched.  
**Thalia gasped "he didn't" Percy was asking just as angry reading about it as he had been at the time but he was trying desperately to control his anger. He should have known as a kid that he wasn't protecting his mother, he had hoped beyond hope that if he let Gabe hit him and if he didn't tell his mother that he would leave her alone, to know that it hadn't worked that he hadn't been able to protect her was the breaking point in that moment, that and the intense anger after all no one, no one hurt his mom.

Everyone in the room had gone from mad to pissed in a matter of seconds the humans were suffering on earth as he gods anger ran free

**For the first time, I realized something. Gabe had hit my mother.  
I didn't know when, or how much. But I was sure he'd done it. Maybe it had been going on for years, when I wasn't around.  
A balloon of anger started expanding in my chest. I came toward Gabe, instinctively taking my pen out of my pocket.  
**"even if you did it wouldn't have worked"

"No but it would have scared the crap out of him" Percy bit out Nico wrapped an arm around Percy's shoulder trying to help Percy control his anger. Percy was grateful for that after all despite how angry he was there was nothing he could do about it here and now Gabe wasn't here heck he wasn't even born yet.

**He just laughed. "What, punk? You gonna write on me? You touch me, and you are going to jail forever, you understand?"  
"Hey, Gabe," his friend Eddie interrupted. "He's just a kid."  
Gabe looked at him resentfully and mimicked in a falsetto voice: "Just a kid."  
His other friends laughed like idiots.  
**"all men are" Hestia sighed all that Artemis had begun to see in Percy was instantly erased by Gabe's ugliness, well there was always the next book to try again Hestia thought

**"I'll be nice to you, punk." Gabe showed me his tobacco-stained teeth. "I'll give you five minutes to get your stuff and clear out. After that, I call the police."  
"Gabe!" my mother pleaded.  
"He ran away," Gabe told her. "Let him stay gone."  
I was itching to uncap Riptide, but even if I did, the blade wouldn't hurt humans. And Gabe, by the loosest definition, was human.  
**"please he's just a fat ugly pig" Aphrodite said in anger

**My mother took my arm. "Please, Percy. Come on. We'll go to your room."  
I let her pull me away, my hands still trembling with rage.  
My room had been completely filled with Gabe's junk. I here were stacks of used car batteries, a rotting bouquet of sympathy flowers with a card from somebody who'd seen his Barbara Walters interview.  
"Gabe is just upset, honey," my mother told me. "I'll talk to him later. I'm sure it will work out."  
**"no it won't not as long as Gabe is there it never will" Athena stated

**"Mom, it'll never work out. Not as long as Gabe's here."  
**Athena nodded

**She wrung her hands nervously. "I can … I'll take you to work with me for the rest of the summer. In the fall, maybe there's another boarding school-"  
"Mom."  
She lowered her eyes. "I'm trying, Percy. I just… I need some time."  
**"she just wants to protect you Percy" Thalia said

" I know but she didn't need to not anymore"

**A package appeared on my bed. At least, I could've sworn it hadn't been there a moment before.  
It was a battered cardboard box about the right size to fit a basketball. The address on the mailing slip was in my own handwriting:  
The Gods  
Mount Olympus  
600th Floor,  
Empire State Building  
New York, NY  
With best wishes,  
PERCY JACKSON  
**everyone couldn't help but laugh and Hermes and Apollo had the creepiest evil sneaky smirks on their faces

**Over the top in black marker, in a man's clear, bold print, was the address of our apartment, and the words: RETURN TO SENDER.  
**Poseidon's hand writing is chicken scratch so it couldn't have been him

It was Zeus Hera stated he's the only one here with bold clear writing they all looked at Zeus who shrugged

**Suddenly I understood what Poseidon had told me on Olympus.  
A package. A decision.  
**"I must have known that you would return the package" Poseidon said then he smirked evilly "now you can turn that thing into stone" Artemis nodded enthusiastically while it wasn't anywhere near painful enough she knew Hades would take care of the rest. Hades was smiling evilly at the thought, after all Ms. Jackson had reminded him of Maria and he knew the two women would have gotten along well had they met, so he was all too pleased to rain extreme torture down on this man's head

**Whatever else you do, know that you are mine. You are a true son of the Sea God.  
I looked at my mother. "Mom, do you want Gabe gone?  
"Percy, it isn't that simple. I-"  
"Mom, just tell me. That jerk has been hitting you. Do you want him gone or not?"  
She hesitated, then nodded almost imperceptibly. "Yes, Percy. I do. And I'm trying to get up my courage to tell him. But you can't do this for me. You can't solve my problems."  
**"well techniquely he could"

"But she's a strong willed woman she must do this for herself" Artemis said

**I looked at the box.  
I could solve her problem. I wanted to slice that package open, plop it on the poker table, and take out what was inside. I could start my very own statue garden, right there in the living room.**

"Do it do it do it" Apollo and Hermes chanted but it was just in fun they knew Percy wouldn't be able to do it because it was Percy, and what they had learned about him so far was enough to know that.

**That's what a Greek hero would do**

"Percy you are a lot of things but you are not a Greek hero" Thalia said

"Or a roman hero" Hazel added

"You're your own kind of hero" Nico stated

** in the stories, I thought. That's what Gabe deserves.  
But a hero's story always ended in tragedy. Poseidon had told me that.  
I remembered the Underworld. I thought about Gabe's spirit drifting forever in the Fields of Asphodel, or condemned to some hideous torture behind the barbed wire of the Fields of Punishment-an eternal poker game, sitting up to his waist in boiling oil listening to opera music. Did I have the right to send someone there? Even Gabe?**

"For being so against sending someone there you sure do have a vivid image of him being tortured, I mean burning oil gruesome" Hades said smiling

"I was angry at him and come on a kid can dream cant he"

**A month ago, I wouldn't have hesitated. Now …  
"I can do it," I told my mom. "One look inside this box, and he'll never bother you again."  
She glanced at the package, and seemed to understand immediately. "No, Percy," she said, stepping away. "You can't."  
**"she knows you well enough to know you couldn't do it and she also knows enough to know that this battle is hers no yours" Athena said

**"Poseidon called you a queen," I told her. "He said he hadn't met a woman like you in a thousand years."  
Her cheeks flushed. "Percy-"  
"You deserve better than this, Mom. You should go to college, get your degree. You can write your novel, meet a nice guy maybe, live in a nice house. You don't need to protect me anymore by staying with Gabe. Let me get rid of him."  
**Artemis although still furious felt herself soften even just a bit at Percy's words how odd she thought

**She wiped a tear off her cheek. "You sound so much like your father," she said. "He offered to stop the tide for me once. He offered to build me a palace at the bottom of the sea. He thought he could solve all my problems with a wave of his hand."  
**Zeus glared at Poseidon but Hades actually looked at his brother in understanding he had very similar feelings toward Maria

**"What's wrong with that?"  
Her multicolored eyes seemed to search inside me. "I think you know, Percy. I think you're enough like me to understand. If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself. I can't let a god take care of me … or my son. I have to … find the courage on my own. Your quest has reminded me of that."  
**Artemis smiled "she has a strong heart a pity she met you Poseidon" Artemis stated not realizing how insulting that was. Poseidon glared and Percy looked affronted, Thalia smacked her hand to her forehead. Nico glared first she had taken Bianca and now she wanted Percy to not be born, gosh this goddess must really hate him.

**We listened to the sound of poker chips and swearing, ESPN from the living room television.  
"I'll leave the box," I said. "If he threatens you …"  
She looked pale, but she nodded. "Where will you go, Percy?"  
"Half-Blood Hill."  
"For the summer … or forever?"  
**"I could never stay away from my mom"

"Who can" Nico added "your mom's awesome"

**"I guess that depends."  
We locked eyes, and I sensed that we had an agreement. We would see how things stood at the end of the summer.  
She kissed my forehead. "You'll be a hero, Percy. You'll be the greatest of all."  
**the heroes of old looked slightly offended especially Hercules greatest of them all yeah right

**I took one last look around my bedroom. I had a feeling I'd never see it again. Then I walked with my mother to the front door.  
"Leaving so soon, punk?" Gabe called after me. "Good riddance."  
**"no good jerk …" Thalia muttered all sorts of profanities under her breath. Percy wanted to tease her and say language but he had to admit Gabe definately deserved it so he let her continue

**I had one last twinge of doubt. How could I turn down the perfect chance to take revenge on him? I was leaving here without saving my mother.  
"Hey, Sally," he yelled. "What about that meat loaf, huh?"  
A steely look of anger flared in my mother's eyes, and I thought, just maybe, I was leaving her in good hands after all. Her own.  
**Artemis smiled yes sally was definitely a wonderful woman everything she looked for in a hunter perhaps in the future Artemis could find young Sally Jackson and ask her to join the hunt

**"The meat loaf is coming right up, dear," she told Gabe. "Meat loaf surprise."  
She looked at me, and winked.  
**"hell yeah" Apollo stated he highfived Hermes everyone looked happy at this and Hades had the creepiest smirk on his face he was already planning the tortures this man would endure Nico had the same sort of look on his face he so wanted to be a part of coming up with Gabe's torture

**The last thing I saw as the door swung closed was my mother staring at Gabe, as if she were contemplating how he would look as a garden statue.**

Go girl power Aphrodite yelled Percy tossed the book to Jason your turn

Jason opened the book last chapter he said and everyone settled down and looked toward Jason it was the last chapter so nothing to exciting was probably going to happen they all thought as Jason started to read.

AN: well I wanted to have this chapter up Thursday but my mom took my computer to read a book on my nook app that I have and then I got scheduled to work on my day off so I had a bit of hold up but I think I managed to get it out in a decent time. I can't wait for the next chapter I'm not entirely sure what's going to happen I'm one of those writers that has a basic idea of what I might want to happen but when I finally get down to writing I just write what comes to my head sometimes it follows my original plan and sometimes it doesn't that's why if I do get suggestions I plan to add them in somewhere but it doesn't always happen. Anyway I've gotten some people who say come on you keep saying the gods are going to learn something but they haven't and such and my answer to that is their gods they aren't going to change that fast besides f they learned all their lessons now the rest of the reading is going to be pretty boring but don't worry they'll get there. I hope you all enjoyed REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW we are so close to 1000 I'm so pumped whoever gets the 1000 review gets props :)


	29. Chapter 29

AN: Thanks for your reviews props to Willowskeith who was the 1000 reviewer and Redlox2 because well I'm nice :D Anyway almost the last chapter in this book yay and then on to sea of monsters. I've also had a lot of people ask about where the story with Paul's relatives was and I tried to go back and find it but I have no idea where it is however I did find another one about sally holding a family get together with the gods and Paul's family if you search the Percy Jackson under the character sally then you should be able to find that one it's alright not my favorite but it's not bad. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except the story line that's unbolded ;)

"Hold on just a moment" Hestia stated "before we read the final chapter I propose a small break; that last chapter was a bit emotional for a few of us and a little breather might be nice"

"Sounds good to me I'm starving" Apollo stated happily standing up and flashing out of the room

"Fine" Hera sighed. Hestia and Poseidon walked out of the throne room on their own. The heroes looked at each other.

Nico smiled "so I have guitar hero in my room anyone up for it" (I know it's doesn't exist yet but were going to pretend that during one of the lunch or dinner times that Nico asked Hermes to make it for him and now it exists)

"Oh hell yes" Thalia stated

"I'm in" Percy said smiling

"Guitar hero?" Jason Hazel and the heroes of old asked confused

Nico smiled "let me introduce you to technology" and with that the heroes walked off Hercules following reluctantly

"You wanted to ask me something" Hestia prompted Poseidon

"Well I'm… how do I phrase this I need help with Percy I don't know entirely what to do"

"I'm afraid I can't help you much there, that's something you and Percy have to figure out together however I can tell you this Poseidon the major issue with this family is were not good at showing our love. Now you do show your love I've seen it, but you only do it when you're alone with them, your much more uptight and formal when you're in front of your brothers. And it's the same for them. you all hate to show each other your emotions because you see it as a weakness that they'll make fun of you for it"

"They will" Poseidon stated "I would if they did"

"That's your problem" Hestia sighed "I'm afraid you won't be able to change your actions until you change your relationship with your brothers"

"That, I'm afraid, will never happen"

"That's only your pride speaking, another thing that needs to change in this family. Look Poseidon there is so much that needs to change and this book has only scratched the surface of what those are I'm not saying it will be easy but it needs to be done if we wish to change our future. Your son said as much earlier and he was quite correct."

Poseidon sighed "so there not much I can do now but I don't want Percy to be angry with me"

"Then talk to him Poseidon, really talk to him"

"Ok I will" Poseidon said nodding he turned to walk off

"Oh and Poseidon" Hestia stopped him

"Yes"

"Talk to him as a father not as a god" Hestia said smiling

Poseidon nodded "Thank you Hestia". he walked out in to the throne room and walked toward his son's room. he was halfway down the hall when he saw Apollo Artemis Hermes Zeus, and hades. Hermes turned as he appeared. he put a finger to his lips and pointed to the room. I looked over and was shocked to see our children Nico, Thalia, and Percy jamming away at some sort of video game I'd never seen before. My son had a plastic looking guitar in his hands as did Thalia while Nico was behind a set of awkward plastic drums

"ok" Thalia said "two songs each the one with the highest score wins… I'll go first"(none of these songs are on guitar hero and I did two song because I just had more than one song for each) the melody started and the name flashed on the screen 'A_nd Run' by He Is We _and then Thalia started to sing and she was pretty good

**'Oh ah oh ah oh ah oh oh,  
Oh ah oh ah oh ah oh oh.  
Oh ah oh ah oh ah oh oh,  
Oh ah oh ah oh ah oh oh.  
Kinda wish I had the courage,  
A bit of bravery.  
So tired of waiting on a man to come and save me.  
Wishing I had everything,  
Or something really.  
I do admit it,  
But now I'm thinking freely.  
I'm going to open my mind to all these,  
New found exciting possibilities.  
Oh ah oh ah oh ah oh oh.  
I'm making all my own plans,  
(Oh ah oh ah oh ah oh oh.)  
Throwing all my old ones away.  
(Oh ah oh ah oh ah oh oh.)  
Gonna grow up, Be someone.  
Draw a map, find a path.  
Take a breath and run.  
And run.  
Filling my head with words to encourage me,  
Gotta get my act so straight so I can truly believe.  
That what I'm waiting for, is really worth the wait.  
Stop bringing myself down,  
I gotta know what makes me great.  
I'm going to open my mind to all these,  
New found exciting possibilities.  
Oh ah oh ah oh ah oh oh.  
I'm making all my own plans,  
(Oh ah oh ah oh ah oh oh.)  
Throwing all my old ones away.  
(Oh ah oh ah oh ah oh oh.)  
Gonna grow up, Be someone.  
Draw a map, find a path.  
Take a breath and run.  
I am trying to get past this,  
Be better than I once was.  
Tired of waiting, on someone else.  
I am trying to get past this,  
Be better than I once was.  
Tired of waiting on someone else,  
I can fix it by myself.  
Oh ah oh ah oh ah oh oh.  
I'm finally taking a stand,  
(Oh ah oh ah oh ah oh oh.)  
I've learned from all my mistakes.  
(Oh ah oh ah oh ah oh oh.)  
I'm making all my own plans,  
(Oh ah oh ah oh ah oh oh.)  
Throwing all my old ones away.  
(Oh ah oh ah oh ah oh oh.)  
Gotta grow up, be someone.  
Draw a map, find a path.  
Take a breath and run.  
Oh ah oh ah oh ah oh oh  
Run, run, run, run.  
(Oh ah oh ah oh ah oh oh.)  
Run, run, run, run.  
(Oh ah oh ah oh ah oh oh.)  
Oh ah oh ah oh ah oh oh.'**

The song ended and

"That was awesome Thals" Nico stated

"It fit you" Percy added

"Thanks! Ok one more" Thalia said selecting another song '_Never Surrender' by Skillet_

**'Do you know what it's like when**

** You're scared to see yourself? **

**Do you know what it's like **

**when You wish you were someone else**

** Who didn't need your help to get by?**

**Do you know what it's like**

**To wanna surrender?**

**I don't wanna feel like this tomorrow**

**I don't wanna live like this today**

**Make me feel better, I wanna feel better**

**Stay with me here now and never surrender**

**Never surrender**

**Do you know what it's like **

**When You're not who you wanna be?**

**Do you know what it's like to**

**Be your own worst enemy**

**Who sees the things in me I can't hide?**

**Do you know what it's like**

**To wanna surrender?**

** I don't wanna feel like this tomorrow**

**I don't wanna live like this today**

**Make me feel better, I wanna feel better**

**Stay with me here now and never surrender**

**Make me feel better, you make me feel better**

**You make me feel better, put me back together**

**I don't wanna feel like this tomorrow**

**I don't wanna live like this today**

**Make me feel better, I need to feel better**

**Stay with me here now and never surrender**

**Put me back together**

**Never surrender, make me feel better**

**You make me feel better**

**Stay with me here now and never surrender'**

"Ok" she said taking a deep breath "your turn Nico" she threw the head set to Nico who caught it and put it on his head; he also switched instruments with her. He adjusted the guitar strap and chose a song '_I'm Just a Kid' by Simple Plan_

**I woke up it was 7  
I waited till 11  
Just to figure out that no one would call  
I think I've got a lot of friends but I don't hear from them  
What's another night all alone?  
When you're spending everyday on your own  
And here it goes**

I'm just a kid and life is a nightmare  
I'm just a kid, I know that it's not fair  
Nobody cares, cause I'm alone and the world is  
Having more fun than me tonight

And maybe when the night is dead, I'll crawl into my bed  
And staring at these 4 walls again  
I'll try to think about the last time I had a good time  
Everyone's got somewhere to go  
And they're gonna leave me here on my own  
And here it goes

I'm just a kid and life is a nightmare  
I'm just a kid, I know that it's not fair  
Nobody cares, cause I'm alone and the world is  
Having more fun than me

What the fuck is wrong with me?  
Don't fit in with anybody  
How did this happen to me?  
Wide awake I'm bored and I can't fall asleep  
And every night is the worst night ever

I'm just a kid **_[repeat x5]_******

I'm just a kid and life is a nightmare  
I'm just a kid, I know that it's not fair  
Nobody cares, cause I'm alone and the world is  
Nobody wants to be alone in the world.

I'm just a kid and life is a nightmare  
I'm just a kid, I know that it's not fair  
Nobody cares, cause I'm alone and the world is  
Nobody wants to be alone in the world  
Nobody cares, cause I'm alone and the world is  
Having more fun than me tonight

I'm all alone tonight  
Nobody cares tonight  
Cause I'm just a kid tonight'

"You're not alone Nico" Percy said

"It's just a song" Nico said brushing Percy off he selected the next song '_This Is War' by 30 Seconds to Mars_

**'A warning to the people, the good and the evil  
This is war  
To the soldier, the civilian, the martyr, the victim  
This is war**

It's the moment of truth and the moment to lie  
The moment to live and the moment to die  
The moment to fight, the moment to fight  
To fight, to fight, to fight, to the right, to the left  
We will fight to the death to the edge of the earth

It's a brave new world from the last to the first  
To the right, to the left, we will fight to the death  
To the edge of the earth, it's a brave new world  
It's a brave new world, it's a brave new world

A warning to the prophet, the liar, the honest  
This is war  
To the leader, the pariah, the victim, the messiah  
This is war

It's the moment of truth and the moment to lie  
The moment to live and the moment to die  
The moment to fight, the moment to fight  
To fight, to fight, to fight, to the right, to the left  
We will fight to the death to the edge of the earth

It's a brave new world from the last to the first  
To the right, to the left, we will fight to the death  
To the edge of the earth, it's a brave new world  
It's a brave new world, it's a brave new world

I do believe in the light, raise your hands up to the sky  
The fight is done, war is won, lift your hands toward the sun  
Toward the sun, toward the sun, the war is won  
Fight, fight, fight, fight, fight

To the right, to the left, we will fight to the death  
To the edge of the earth, it's a brave new world  
From the last to the first, to the right, to the left  
We will fight to the death to the edge of the earth

It's a brave new world, it's a brave new world  
It's a brave new world, a brave new world  
The war is won, the war is won,  
A brave new world

I believe in nothing, not the end and not the start  
I believe in nothing, not the earth and not the stars  
I believe in nothing, not the day and not the dark  
I believe in nothing but the beating of our hearts

I believe in nothing, 100 suns until we part  
I believe in nothing, not in sin, not in God  
I believe in nothing, not in peace and not in war  
I believe in nothing but the truth of who we are'

"I liked that one" Percy stated

Nico smiled "I thought you would"

"tough competition" Thalia said

"your turn Percy"

"ok guys I know I said I'd sing but I really I haven't before so I'm not sure about…"

"just sing Percy!" they both yelled

"fine" Percy took the headset from Nico "if it's bad I blame all of you" and with that Percy selected his first song '_I'm Still Here by Johnny Rzeznik'_

**'I am a question to the world,  
Not an answer to be heard.  
All a moment that's held in your arms.  
And what do you think you'd ever say?  
I won't listen anyway…  
You don't know me,  
And I'll never be what you want me to be.**

And what do you think you'd understand?  
I'm a boy, no, I'm a man..  
You can take me and throw me away.  
And how can you learn what's never shown?  
Yeah, you stand here on your own.  
They don't know me 'cause I'm not here.

And I want a moment to be real,  
Wanna touch things I don't feel,  
Wanna hold on and feel I belong.  
And how can the world want me to change,  
They're the ones that stay the same.  
The don't know me,  
'Cause I'm not here.

And you see the things they never see  
All you wanted, I could be  
Now you know me, and I'm not afraid  
And I wanna tell you who I am  
Can you help me be a man?  
They can't break me  
As long as I know who I am

And I want a moment to be real,  
Wanna touch things I don't feel,  
Wanna hold on and feel I belong.  
And how can the world want me to change,  
They're the ones that stay the same.  
They can't see me,  
But I'm still here.

They can't tell me who to be,  
'Cause I'm not what they see.  
And the world is still sleepin',  
While I keep on dreamin' for me.  
And their words are just whispers  
And lies that I'll never believe.

And I want a moment to be real,  
Wanna touch things I don't feel,  
Wanna hold on and feel I belong.  
And how can they say I never change  
They're the ones that stay the same.  
I'm the one now,  
'Cause I'm still here.

I'm the one,  
'Cause I'm still here.  
I'm still here.  
I'm still here.  
I'm still here.'

Percy started off a bit quiet but he had only gotten better from there

"Damn Percy that was…"

"Awesome" Nico completed Thalia's sentence "and you were worried, come on sing another"

Percy selected another song _'Stand by Rascal Flatts'_

**'You feel like a candle in a hurricane  
Just like a picture with a broken frame  
Alone and helpless  
Like you've lost your fight  
But you'll be all right  
But you'll be all right**

'Cause when push  
Comes to shove  
You taste what you're made of  
You might bend  
Till you break  
'Cause it's all you can take  
On your knees  
You look up  
Decide you've had enough  
You get mad  
You get strong  
Wipe your hands  
Shake it off  
Then you stand  
Then you stand

Life's like a novel  
With the end ripped out  
The edge of a canyon  
With only one way down  
Take what you're given  
Before it's gone  
Start holding on  
Keep holding on

'Cause when push  
Comes to shove  
You taste what you're made of**_  
_****You might bend  
Till you break  
'Cause it's all you can take  
On your knees  
You look up  
Decide you've had enough  
You get mad  
You get strong  
Wipe your hands  
Shake it off  
Then you stand  
Then you stand**

Every time you get up  
And get back in the race  
One more small piece of you  
Starts to fall into place

'Cause when push  
Comes to shove  
You taste what you're made of  
You might bend  
Till you break  
'Cause it's all you can take  
On your knees  
You look up  
Decide you've had enough  
You get mad  
You get strong  
Wipe your hands  
Shake it off  
Then you stand  
(Then you stand)  
Then you stand  
(Then you stand)  
Yeah then you stand  
(Then you stand)  
(Then you stand)'

Nico and Thalia and hell all the rest of the demigods looked a bit solemn after the song had ended, but how could they not that song described their lives: how much it took to keep fighting even in the face of disaster. Thalia broke the silence "alright let's see who won" she hit a couple buttons on her guitar and their scores all popped up

"Ha! Yes" Percy fist pumped "I win, alright everybody pay up" Percy collected his winnings

"You know what I think Percy was playing us when he said he'd never sang before"

"Me too Nico"

"What no way" Percy stated "never" all three laughed

"I can't believe we tied" Nico and Thalia both stated

"I won my songs were way better"

"Keep dreaming air head"

"Shut up death breath"

Hera's magnified voice filled the room "alright breaks over lets finish this book"

"About time" Hercules grumbled to himself. The heroes left the room and walked back down the hall to the throne room.

The gods who had been listening lounged on their thrones deep in thought the songs their children had sung were very powerful and it left an impact in each of them. Jason picked up the book from where he had set it and flipped open to the last chapter, and he finally began to read…

AN: Ok at first I was only going to have the Poseidon and Hestia talk and then onto the chapter, but as I was writing I remembered I got request to do a song chapter since I had mentioned Percy's singing voice earlier so I decided to make this one a bit of a fun chapter. I do apologize to those who thought that this was the last chapter to this book :) but it's safe to say the next one definitely will be; I swear on my honor. I hope you all enjoyed this little break chapter now then …REVIEW muahahahahahahahahaha!


	30. Chapter 30

AN: Thanks for all your reviews on the last chapter I know it wasn't exactly what you expected. I know I'm just a Kid doesn't entirely fit Nico but I just wanted him to sing a fun song, I think a better one would have been _Welcome to My Life by Simple Plan _but oh well too late now. Anyway here's the actual last chapter to the lightning thief I hope you all enjoy.

DISCLIAMER: I own NOTHING!

**"The Prophecy Comes True" **Jason read out.

Everyone lounged in their seats expecting a light and easy last chapter; they were back at camp after all and the quest was over what could possibly go wrong (famous last words). Poseidon and Athena were especially happy they could only take so much stress.

The only person who seemed a bit fidgety was Percy, after all he knew there was something yet to come and he was not looking forward to it. He had experienced much worse pain since then but it didn't mean this would hurt any less and he cursed the fates for making him have to live through it again.

Thalia and Nico were very interested they knew that Luke had gotten discovered but no one had ever gotten around to telling them how the only part of the story they had gotten was that look had betrayed them and stolen Zeus's lightning bolt under Kronos's (I just realized that I had been using the wrong form of Kronos this whole time sorry about that.) orders. But so far Luke hadn't been discovered.

**We were the first heroes to return alive to Half-Blood Hill since Luke, so of course everybody treated us as if we'd won some reality-TV contest. According to camp tradition, we wore laurel wreaths to a big feast prepared in our honor, then led a procession down to the bonfire, where we got to burn the burial shrouds our cabins had made for us in our absence.**

"That sounds kind of fun" Orion remarked

"It was" Percy said smiling "especially mine"

"Why?" Theseus asked, Percy just gestured to the book.

**Annabeth's shroud was so beautiful-gray silk with embroidered owls-I told her it seemed a shame not to bury her in it. **

"Excuse me?" Athena bristled

"It was only a joke lady Athena I would never wish Annabeth dead"

"Of course not because you're in love" Aphrodite said smiling happily

Athena gagged "please don't make me laugh; friends I can deal with more… just no" Percy grimaced but then brightened up; if after one book she was ok with them being friends maybe after the rest of them she'd be ok with them dating.

**She punched me and told me to shut up.**

"It hurt too" Percy said rubbing his arm

"Good" Thalia said "you deserved that one"

**Being the son of Poseidon, I didn't have any cabin mates, so the Ares cabin had volunteered to make my shroud.**

Thalia laughed "oh this is going to be good"

**They'd taken an old bedsheet and painted smiley faces with X'ed-out eyes around the border, and the word LOSER painted really big in the middle.**

Nico laughed and so did Thalia. Ares was smirking proud of his children

"I can see now why it would be fun to burn" Theseus commented

Hazel however looked appalled "if you had actually died, they wouldn't have really buried you in that right?" she asked

"Who knows" Percy shrugged "good thing we didn't have to find out"

** It was fun to burn.**

"You don't change much do you bro" Orion laughed

**As Apollo's cabin led the sing-along and passed out s'mores, I was surrounded by my old Hermes cabinmates, Annabeth's friends from Athena, and Grover's satyr buddies, who were admiring the brand-new searcher's license he'd received from the Council of Cloven Elders.**

Thalia smiled good for him. She had known that he had gotten it but it was nice to hear about him getting recognized.

** The council had called Grover's performance on the quest "Brave to the point of indigestion. Horns-and-whiskers above anything we have seen in the past."**

"That's G-man for you, best satyr out there"

"He sounds it" Hazel agreed "I can't wait to meet him in the future"

**The only ones not in a party mood were Clarisse and her cabinmates, whose poisonous looks told me they'd never forgive me for disgracing their dad.**

"Better not" Ares growled

"Never is a bit of an overstatement"

"Really" Thalia asked

"We have an understanding now"

"When did that happen"

"Umm let's just say nobody knows about it except me and her"

"Well if things keep going the way they are we'll figure it out"

"As long as you don't let her know"

**That was okay with me.**

**Even Dionysus's welcome-home speech wasn't enough to dampen my spirits. **

"Really hmm I'll have to try harder in the future" Mr. D said absentmindedly.

**"Yes, yes, so the little brat didn't get himself killed and now he'll have an even bigger head. Well, huzzah for that. In other announcements, there will be no canoe races this Saturday…."**

Poseidon glared at Dionysus who just smiled sheepishly back

**I moved back into cabin three, but it didn't feel so lonely anymore. **

"That's good" Poseidon said he didn't want his son to feel alone

**I had my friends to train with during the day. At night, I lay awake and listened to the sea, knowing my father was out there. Maybe he wasn't quite sure about me yet, maybe he hadn't even wanted me born, but he was watching. And so far, he was proud of what I'd done.**

Poseidon winced a bit, but smiled in the end he was so very proud. Now he just had to make Percy see that. He would talk to the boy tonight after the chapter was over

**As for my mother, she had a chance at a new life.**

Everyone cheered…well mostly everyone those too formal to cheer just smiled

**Her letter arrived a week after I got back to camp. She told me Gabe had left mysteriously-disappeared off the face of the planet, in fact. She'd reported him missing to the police, but she had a funny feeling they would never find him.**

"Go Ms. Jackson, you rock" Nico stated happily

Artemis again entertained the thought of asking Sally to join the hunt, it was beginning to become a plan in her head, besides if they changed the future then what would it matter if the world was missing one boy.

**On a completely unrelated subject, she'd sold her first life-size concrete sculpture, entitled The Poker Player, to a collector, through an art gallery in Soho.**

Hades smirked this woman definitely had guts his Maria would have liked her very much he was sure of it.

"Yes on a completely un related subject" Hermes repeated sarcastically

** She'd gotten so much money for it, she'd put a deposit down on a new apartment and made a payment on her first semester's tuition at NYU.**

Athena smiled the young women was on her way to a bright future and she would be sure to bless the woman

**The Soho gallery was clamoring for more of her work, which they called "a huge step forward in super-ugly neorealism."**

"Urgh" Aphrodite shivered "why would anyone want a statue so ugly?"

"Yeah they should have just blown the thing up" Ares said

"Exactly" Aphrodite agreed smiling at her boyfriend

**But don't worry, my mom wrote. I'm done with sculpture. I've disposed of that box of tools you left me. It's time for me to turn to writing.**

"That's good" Athena said at least this woman had her priorities straight

** At the bottom, she wrote a P.S.: Percy, I've found a good private school here in the city. I've put a deposit down to hold you a spot, in case you want to enroll for seventh grade. You could live at home. But if you want to go year-round at Half-Blood Hill, I'll understand.**

"Are you kidding me I could never manage to stay at camp for a whole summer let alone a whole year" Percy stated "besides I'd miss my mom too much" Hera smiled at Percy

**I folded the note carefully and set it on my bedside table. Every night before I went to sleep, I read it again, and I tried to decide how to answer her.**

"Really it took you that long to decide, I figured you would have wanted to go home with her"

"Part of me did and part of me wanted to stay with my friends I mean no school just sword fighting what could be better than that; also, my mom would have been safer that way" Percy said "it was a hard choice"

**On the Fourth of July, the whole camp gathered at the beach for a fireworks display by cabin nine. Being Hephaestus's kids,**

Said god smiled proudly at the mention of his children

**they weren't going to settle for a few lame red-white-and-blue explosions. They'd anchored a barge offshore and loaded it with rockets the size of Patriot missiles. According to Annabeth, who'd seen the show before, the blasts would be sequenced so tightly they'd look like frames of animation across the sky. The finale was supposed to be a couple of hundred-foot-tall Spartan warriors who would crackle to life above the ocean, fight a battle, then explode into a million colors.**

"That sounds so awesome" Nico stated he had yet to see one of those firework shows

Hephaestus smile grew wider his children were very capable

**As Annabeth and I were spreading a picnic blanket,**

"Oohlala a date" Aphrodite squealed in excitement

"It wasn't a date" Percy said blushing crimson

"Of course it wasn't dear she replied throwing him a wink"

** Grover showed up to tell us good-bye. He was dressed in his usual jeans and T-shirt and sneakers, but in the last few weeks he'd started to look older, almost high-school age. His goatee had gotten thicker. He'd put on weight. His horns had grown at least an inch, so he now had to wear his rasta cap all the time to pass as human.**

"Wow quick growth spurt if you compare it to the beginning of the book"

**"I'm off," he said. "I just came to say … well, you know."**

"It's so tough saying good bye" Hestia said sadly

"I'm just lucky that I have something that makes saying goodbye so hard" (Winnie the pooh quote)

"Very true" Hestia replied brightening up

**I tried to feel happy for him. After all, it wasn't every day a satyr got permission to go look for the great god Pan. But it was hard saying good-bye. I'd only known Grover a year, yet he was my oldest friend.**

"That's kind of sad in a happy way" Perseus said to Theseus and Orion who nodded along at least their little brother had friends now they thought

**Annabeth gave him a hug. She told him to keep his fake feet on.**

**I asked him where he was going to search first.**

**"Kind of a secret," he said, looking embarrassed. "I wish you could come with me, guys, but humans and Pan …"**

Hermes sighed softly pan was such a touchy subject for him he hoped this satyr would find his son

**"We understand," Annabeth said. "You got enough tin cans for the trip?"**

**"Yeah."**

**"And you remembered your reed pipes?"**

"That's Annabeth always the nag" Thalia joked

"She is kind of like a mom" Nico agreed. Jason had known Annabeth for what seemed like quite a long time and yet it seemed like he didn't know her at all

**"Jeez, Annabeth," he grumbled. "You're like an old mama goat."**

Nico laughed "that's another way to put it I suppose"

**But he didn't really sound annoyed.**

**He gripped his walking stick and slung a backpack over his shoulder. He looked like any hitchhiker you might see on an American highway-nothing like the little runty boy I used to defend from bullies at Yancy Academy.**

"he's grown up" Hestia said "but that doesn't mean he won't need your help in the future"

"Trust me aunty I know"

**"Well," he said, "wish me luck."**

"Good luck" Hermes and Apollo said together Apollo more joking and Hermes more serious he really wanted this satyr to find pan he seemed like a good one

**He gave Annabeth another hug. He clapped me on the shoulder, then headed back through the dunes.**

**Fireworks exploded to life overhead: Hercules killing the Nemean lion,**

Hercules smiled triumphantly and the other three heroes rolled their eyes

**Artemis chasing the boar, George Washington (who, by the way, was a son of Athena) crossing the Delaware.**

"Of course he was" Athena said "with a mind like that who else could he have been"

"It's just weird to think about famous people being demigods especially because it's rare you hear of adult Greeks" Percy made sure to specify Greeks as he knew the romans were different and that still astounded him

**"Hey, Grover," I called.**

**He turned at the edge of the woods.**

**"Wherever you're going-I hope they make good enchiladas."**

Some gods looked amused Hestia smiled softly and Nico and Thalia burst into laughter

**Grover grinned, and then he was gone, the trees closing around him.**

**"We'll see him again," Annabeth said.**

"Duh Grover won't die that easily" Thalia stated proud of all her friend had accomplished

**I tried to believe it. The fact that no searcher had ever come back in two thousand years … well, I decided not to think about that. Grover would be the first. He had to be.**

Hermes nodded firmly if any satyr could find his son it would be this one

**July passed.**

**I spent my days devising new strategies for capture-the-flag and making alliances with the other cabins to keep the banner out of Ares's hands.**

Ares glared at that

**I got to the top of the climbing wall for the first time without getting scorched by lava.**

"Aww Percy's growing up" his brothers teased and Percy mocked glared sticking out his tongue to add to the affect

**From time to time, I'd walk past the Big House, glance up at the attic windows, and think about the Oracle. I tried to convince myself that its prophecy had come to completion.**

The room became a bit more on edge was there something they were missing they wondered

**You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.**

"Check" Apollo said

**Been there, done that-even though the traitor god had turned out to be Ares rather than Hades.**

Hades smiled glad his name had been cleared. Zeus glared at Ares having not fully forgiven him

**You shall find what was stolen, and see it safe returned.**

"Done" Hermes stated

**Check. One master bolt delivered. One helm of darkness back on Hades's oily head.**

"Ya my master bolt is back" Zeus said happily

"My head is not oily" Hades refuted throwing a small glare in Percy's direction who just smiled back

** You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.**

"Done" Hermes and Apollo stated together

"Is it?" Athena questioned

"Well" Hermes said "Ares did claim to be on his side and then betrayed him"

"On his side, yes, but the two were never friends" Athena reasoned

"She does have a point" Apollo stated "prophecies are fickle things"

**This line still bothered me.**

"As it should, always be prepared" Athena said

** Ares had pretended to be my friend, then betrayed me. That must be what the Oracle meant….**

"See I'm not the only one who thought so" Hermes said

"Still doesn't mean you're right" Athena replied

**And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.**

"His mother" Hermes said

**I had failed to save my mom, but only because I'd let her save herself, and I knew that was the right thing.**

"See told you"

"No one said you weren't right"

"whatever"

**So why was I still uneasy?**

Now a few people were more on edge something wasn't right but what

**The last night of the summer session came all too quickly.**

**The campers had one last meal together. We burned part of our dinner for the gods.**

Hermes and Apollo's mouth watered at the thought of an offering

**At the bonfire, the senior counselors awarded the end-of-summer beads.**

**I got my own leather necklace, and when I saw the bead for my first summer, I was glad the firelight covered my blushing.**

"Aww" Thalia teased him

** The design was pitch black, with a sea-green trident shimmering in the center.**

"Like Hades and Poseidon together" Hestia said softly the two mentioned gods scoffed. Hades was much more pronounced Poseidon didn't know what to think he wanted to believe Hestia was right about change, but could he really get along with his brothers

** "The choice was unanimous," Luke announced. "This bead commemorates the first Son of the Sea God at this camp, and the quest he undertook into the darkest part of the Underworld to stop a war!"**

The heroes all cheered

** The entire camp got to their feet and cheered. Even Ares's cabin felt obliged to stand. Athena's cabin steered Annabeth to the front so she could share in the applause.**

"Good she as much as anyone else deserves it" Athena said smiling proudly

** I'm not sure I'd ever felt as happy or sad as I did at that moment.**

"Sad why sad" Nico asked

**I'd finally found a family, people who cared about me and thought I'd done something right.**

"I'm still not seeing the sad part"

"Just wait and let Jason read"

"Fine jeez"

**And in the morning, most of them would be leaving.**

"Oh I get it" Nico said "yeah that's slightly sad"

**The next morning, I found a form letter on my bedside table.**

**I knew Dionysus must've filled it out, because he stubbornly insisted on getting my name wrong:**

Mr. D couldn't help but smirk a bit

**Dear Peter Johnson ,**

**If you intend to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round, you must inform the Big House by noon today. If you do not announce your intentions, we will assume you have vacated your cabin or died a horrible death. Cleaning harpies will begin work at sundown. They will be authorized to eat any unregistered campers. All personal articles left behind will be incinerated in the lava pit.**

**Have a nice day!**

** Mr. D (Dionysus)**

** Camp Director, Olympian Council #12**

"Nice, short, to the point" Hermes said

"I like it" commented Apollo

**That's another thing about ADHD. Deadlines just aren't real to me until I'm staring one in the face.**

"I don't think that's ADHD Percy I think that's just you"

Percy only shrugged

**Summer was over, and I still hadn't answered my mother, or the camp, about whether I'd be staying. **

"Slacker" Nico said Percy proceeded to give Nico a nugie until the boy called out "ok, ok I give"

**Now I had only a few hours to decide.**

**The decision should have been easy. I mean, nine months of hero training or nine months of sitting in a classroom-duh.**

"Classroom" Nico said

"Really" Orion questioned "that's not the choice I would have made"

"Yeah but you didn't factor in aunt sally and she the greatest" Percy smiled his mom would be happy to know that Nico thought so highly of her

**But there was my mom to consider. For the first time, I had the chance to live with her for a whole year, without Gabe. I had a chance be at home and knock around the city in my free time.**

"Percy and his city" Nico and Thalia said shaking their heads

"New York is an awesome city" Percy defended

** I remembered what Annabeth had said so long ago on our quest: The real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not.**

"She has a point"

** I thought about the fate of Thalia, daughter of Zeus.**

"Me" Thalia said happily

** I wondered how many monsters would attack me if I left Half-Blood Hill.**

"Not that many thanks to Tyson" Percy said

** If I stayed in one place for a whole school year, without Chiron or my friends around to help me, would my mother and I even survive until the next summer? That was assuming the spelling tests and five-paragraph essays didn't kill me.**

Athena rolled her eyes "come now learning isn't that bad"

"She's like Demeter and her grain"

"I'd rather get lectured about being wise then eating cereal any day" Percy replied

"Agreed" Nico agreed

** I decided I'd go down to the arena and do some sword practice. Maybe that would clear my head.**

"That's how demigods solve all their problems; something wrong sword practice, got dumped by your girlfriend sword practice, any other issues sword practice." (it's funny because at college its naps literally you have any sort of problems life or school and you ask a college kid their just like take a nap)

"Well it works" Percy replied

** The campgrounds were mostly deserted, shimmering in the August heat. All the campers were in their cabins packing up, or running around with brooms and mops, getting ready for final inspection. Argus was helping some of the Aphrodite kids haul their Gucci suitcases and makeup kits over the hill, where the camp's shuttle bus would be waiting to take them to the airport.**

"Shouldn't you be doing that, I mean you said you only had a couple of hours and we all know how messy you are"

"I didn't want to think about leaving yet give me a break"

**Don't think about leaving yet, I told myself. Just train.**

"See"

"whatever"

** I got to the sword-fighters arena and found that Luke had had the same idea.**

Thalia suddenly felt more alert something didn't seem right

** His gym bag was plopped at the edge of the stage. He was working solo, whaling on battle dummies with a sword I'd never seen before. It must've been a regular steel blade, because he was slashing the dummies' heads right off, stabbing through their straw-stuffed guts.**

"Wow violent"

"A steel sword" Hestia said looking concerned "that sword can kill humans she whispered"

"My son wouldn't harm humans I'm sure he just wanted a super cool sword" Hermes said. Percy wasn't sure whether he was trying to convince Hestia or himself, and he felt bad for Hermes knowing what was coming.

** His orange counselor's shirt was dripping with sweat. His expression was so intense, his life might've really been in danger. I watched, fascinated, as he disemboweled the whole row of dummies, hacking off limbs and basically reducing them to a pile of straw and armor.**

Hermes couldn't help but smile proudly his son was an excellent fighter

**They were only dummies, but I still couldn't help being awed by Luke's skill. The guy was an incredible fighter. It made me wonder, again, how he possibly could've failed at his quest.**

Hermes smiled faded and he felt saddened by the thought of his son being hurt on a quest

** Finally, he saw me, and stopped mid-swing. "Percy."**

"He must think you're a stalker what with you just standing there staring" Apollo laughed Percy rolled his eyes

** "Um, sorry," I said, embarrassed. "I just-"**

** "It's okay," he said, lowering his sword. "Just doing some last-minute practice."**

"Last minute slaughtering more like"

"Why last minute" Nico said "didn't Luke stay all summer?"

"This must be around the time that he was outed as a traitor" Thalia whispered to Nico

** "Those dummies won't be bothering anybody anymore."**

"Lame joke Perce"

** Luke shrugged. "We build new ones every summer."**

"That sounds like tedious work I'd hate to get stuck with that chore"

"It does suck" Nico said. He had gotten that chore when he had been with the Hermes cabin the first year at camp

** Now that his sword wasn't swirling around, I could see something odd about it. The blade was two different types of metal-one edge bronze, the other steel.**

"It can kill humans and monsters alike" Hestia's skin crawled there was something not right about this and she had a feeling it wasn't going to end well

** Luke noticed me looking at it. "Oh, this? New toy. This is Backbiter."**

** "Backbiter?"**

** Luke turned the blade in the light so it glinted wickedly. "One side is celestial bronze. The other is tempered steel. Works on mortals and immortals both."**

This set more than a few gods on edge and he heroes of old were looking at the book in suspicion even in their time killing mortals was looked down on especially those who were innocent

Hermes still refused to believe that there was anything wrong with his son

** I thought about what Chiron had told me when I started my quest-that a hero should never harm mortals unless absolutely necessary.**

** "I didn't know they could make weapons like that."**

** "They probably can't," Luke agreed. "It's one of a kind."**

"Then who made it?" someone questioned there was no answer

** He gave me a tiny smile, then slid the sword into its scabbard. "Listen, I was going to come looking for you. What do you say we go down to the woods one last time, look for something to fight?"**

"Don't" Hestia said and she wasn't sure quite why, Luke seemed nice enough but something had made her very uneasy about the whole thing

"Why, my sons not going to do anything he just wants to hang out a last time jeez?" Hermes defended his son

** I don't know why I hesitated.**

That settled it Hestia thought Percy's senses were impeccable and he felt something off then it had to be and she felt herself becoming sad she hoped she was wrong a betrayal like this would crush poor Hermes and not to mention Percy

** I should've felt relieved that Luke was being so friendly. Ever since I'd gotten back from the quest, he'd been acting a little distant. I was afraid he might resent me for all the attention I'd gotten.**

"My sons better than that he's not so shallow" Hermes himself was feeling uneasy but he refused to listen to that feeling this was his son and he would defend him

** "You think it's a good idea?" I asked. "I mean-"**

** "Aw, come on." He rummaged in his gym bag and pulled out a six-pack of Cokes. "Drinks are on me."**

"Percy's going to cave now"

"How do you know?"

"I know you" Nico replied

** I stared at the Cokes, wondering where the heck he'd gotten them. There were no regular mortal sodas at the camp store. No way to smuggle them in unless you talked to a satyr, maybe.**

"He's my son he can do that much piece of cake"

** Of course, the magic dinner goblets would fill with anything you want, but it just didn't taste the same as a real Coke, straight out of the can.**

"That's true" Nico said "out of the can coca cola just had that sort of unique taste to it"

** Sugar and caffeine. My willpower crumbled.**

"Told you"

"So that's all it takes" Hazel asked

"I'm a teenager and they don't exactly serve caffeine and sugar at camp meals"

"You have ADHD I'm sure you don't need it"

"Still like it"

** "Sure," I decided. "Why not?"**

** We walked down to the woods and kicked around for some kind of monster to fight, but it was too hot. All the monsters with any sense must've been taking siestas in their nice cool caves.**

"Which begs the question why a professional like Luke who would know no monsters would be out would suggest going into the woods"

Athena nodded she had to agree with Poseidon, it was sound reasoning and a good question

Poseidon had the feeling he wasn't going to like the answer

** We found a shady spot by the creek where I'd broken Clarisse's spear during my first capture the flag game. We sat on a big rock, drank our Cokes, and watched the sunlight in the woods.**

"Sounds kind of nice I mean if you were with a friend" Nico said quietly to himself

** After a while Luke said, "You miss being on a quest?"**

** "With monsters attacking me every three feet? Are you kidding?"**

"At least you're sane enough in that sense"

"Well…"

"Really Percy," Percy only smiled

** Luke raised an eyebrow.**

** "Yeah, I miss it," I admitted. "You?"**

"It's like, I don't really know how to describe it, finishing a quest is like coming down from an adrenaline rush, for a while you feel kind of bored, I mean don't get me wrong I really don't want to go on any quests they really do suck, but the after feeling doesn't really change that's just kind of how it is.

** A shadow passed over his face.**

** I was used to hearing from the girls how good-looking Luke was,**

Hermes smiled that's right his son was awesome

"Now you know how I feel" Nico said Percy rolled his eyes

"Yeah right"

"You are so oblivious dude"

** but at the moment, he looked weary, and angry, and not at all handsome. His blond hair was gray in the sunlight. The scar on his face looked deeper than usual. I could imagine him as an old man.**

"That's good I want my son to live to old age; I wouldn't have to worry so much" Hermes said laughing

** "I've lived at Half-Blood Hill year-round since I was fourteen," he told me.**

This had Athena questioning the young demigod. Why would he say last minute training if he was planning on staying there all year, something was missing in this picture?

** "Ever since Thalia … well, you know. I trained, and trained, and trained. I never got to be a normal teenager, out there in the real world. Then they threw me one quest, and when I came back, it was like, 'Okay, ride's over. Have a nice life.'"**

"He sounds bitter" Hazel said, she was liking this boy less and less.

** He crumpled his Coke can and threw into the creek, which really shocked me. One of the first things you learn at Camp Half-Blood is: Don't litter. You'll hear from the nymphs and the naiads. They'll get even. You'll crawl into bed one night and find your sheets filled with centipedes and mud.**

"Speaking from experience"

"No way I'm not that dumb, but I've been told my fair share of stories and ide rather not see if there true"

"Well at least you're not that dumb" Athena mused

** "The heck with laurel wreaths," Luke said. "I'm not going to end up like those dusty trophies in the Big House attic."**

** "You make it sound like you're leaving."**

"He is" Thalia said sadly she hopped that this would change she wanted Luke to be good the way he was before all of this, although she did have him to thank for joining the hunters and of that she would always be grateful

**Luke gave me a twisted smile. "Oh, I'm leaving, all right, Percy. I brought you down here to say good-bye."**

The atmosphere tensed and Poseidon sat up a bit straighter this didn't sound like a friendly goodbye and going by the frown Percy was wearing he was right something was up

** He snapped his fingers. A small fire burned a hole in the ground at my feet. Out crawled something glistening black, about the size of my hand. A scorpion.**

"Pit scorpion" Poseidon breathed out in panic he knew how fast one of those could move and how quickly they killed and his son was now the target of one

Hermes was in shock no this couldn't be, not his son, not Luke. He didn't know his son well yet but it still hurt. Why, why was it always his children that these things happened to was he cursed? Was he such a horrible father?

** I started to go for my pen.**

"No" Athena said quickly "if you move the pit scorpion will definitely sting you"

** "I wouldn't," Luke cautioned. "Pit scorpions can jump up to fifteen feet. Its stinger can pierce right through your clothes. You'll be dead in sixty seconds."**

Poseidon was pale he had read about his son in dangerous situations in the last chapters but this somehow topped all of them

** "Luke, what-"**

** Then it hit me.**

"He betrayed us all" Athena said "he was most likely the hero who is working under Kronos"

Hermes brightened up "then maybe he's being used like Ares was, maybe he's just being influenced"

Athena was about to say it was unlikely Luke didn't seem like Ares had, but Apollo shot her a glare and she decided perhaps it was not the time for that

Apollo knew the truth would come out but he wanted Hermes to a least have a little hope because a little was better than none

** You will be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.**

Apollo sighed sadly "the prophecy comes true" he said repeating the title

** "You," I said.**

** He stood calmly and brushed off his jeans.**

** The scorpion paid him no attention. It kept its beady black eyes on me, clamping its pincers as it crawled onto my shoe.**

Poseidon could do nothing but hang on every word Jason said waiting and hoping for some miracle for someone to save Percy

Thalia and Nico were panicked. Of course Percy was ok, but this situation seemed so bleak. Nico was so angry how dare Luke, how dare he. Percy put an arm around his cousins to keep them calm and to steady himself. He was beginning to brace himself for the inevitable pain.

Hazel was glued to the book in Jason's hand how had Percy gotten out of this one. Jason read on he was in shock weren't things supposed to be anticlimactic near the end and yet this… this was intense and Jason felt sorry for Percy, being betrayed was never easy especially by a friend.

Perseus and Orion and Theseus all had clenched fists, how dare he betray his friends, his family. They had themselves betrayed a few people, but in their minds it was nothing like this.

** "I saw a lot out there in the world, Percy," Luke said. "Didn't you feel it-the darkness gathering, the monsters growing stronger? Didn't you realize how useless it all is? All the heroics-being pawns of the gods. They should've been overthrown thousands of years ago, but they've hung on, thanks to us half-bloods."**

Zeus glared at the book "impertinent half blood"

"I do have to agree with him on that"

"Excuse me" Zeus looked to Percy in anger and many of the others were staring at Percy in shock

"You guys do need us, we do help to keep you going and yet you never seem to think so, that's your problem you have to realize that you need us just as much as we need you if you don't this world will be destroyed that's the ugly truth and it had to be said and you have to listen to it" Percy said trying to get the gods to listen and a few of them did mostly the woman and Apollo and Hermes, but the rest seemed unsure even Poseidon hesitated.

** I couldn't believe this was happening.**

** "Luke … you're talking about our parents," I said.**

Poseidon smiled a bit at least Percy tried to defend him even if it was a bit offhanded

** He laughed. "That's supposed to make me love them?**

Hermes recoiled into his chair flinching, Apollo tried to offer some comfort but Hermes shrugged him off his eyes trained on the book in Jason's hand wanting to know what his future self-had done so wrong.

** Their precious 'Western civilization is a disease, Percy. It's killing the world. The only way to stop it is to burn it to the ground, start over with something more honest."**

"Something more honest, with Kronos at its head please his reign will bring nothing but bloodshed" Zeus bit out in anger the gods looked at Zeus startled in all these years of peace they had forgotten that he could be a just leader and a fierce fighter.

**"You're as crazy as Ares."**

Ares scowled at being called crazy

** His eyes flared. "Ares is a fool.**

Ares glare went from Percy to the book how dare that insolent hero he thought the fire in his eyes burning with fierce hatred

** He never realized the true master he was serving. If I had time, Percy, I could explain. But I'm afraid you won't live that long."**

"Like hell he won't" Poseidon bit out between clenched teeth

** The scorpion crawled onto my pants leg.**

Thalia gripped Percy's arm her nails biting into his skin both out of anger and worry

** There had to be a way out of this. I needed time to think.**

"Stall" Jason suggested he got a glare form Thalia

"Keep reading" she said a bit more harshly than what was needed Jason grimaced and Percy shot him an I'm sorry look to which Jason ignored and kept reading

** "Kronos," I said. "That's who you serve."**

** The air got colder.**

"Names Percy names" Hazel said in a slightly scolding tone

** "You should be careful with names," Luke warned.**

"See" Hazel stated "although I don't want to agree with him" she said as an afterthought

** "Kronos got you to steal the master bolt and the helm. He spoke to you in your dreams."**

** Luke's eye twitched. "He spoke to you, too, Percy.**

"Everyone does, it's like I've got this big neon sign above me saying welcome evil doers" Percy muttered Nico snorted slightly glad for the slight ease in tension

** You should've listened."**

"You shouldn't have Luke"

** "He's brainwashing you, Luke."**

"Listen to him" Thalia begged, even knowing it would do no good this was just a book and she knew what he had become later on, but still something inside her couldn't help but want it to change like magic Percy gave her shoulders a squeeze knowing she needed the comfort.

Hermes looked awful he looked so utterly depressed. Apollo wanted to help, wanted to do something but he knew if he tried Hermes would only push him away like earlier. This was something Hermes had to deal with on his own and yet Apollo couldn't except that he wanted to help Hermes and by the gods he was going to.

** "You're wrong. He showed me that my talents are being wasted. You know what my quest was two years ago, Percy? My father, Hermes, wanted me to steal a golden apple from the Garden of the Hesperides and return it to Olympus. After all the training I'd done, that was the best he could think up."**

Hermes flinched each blow was like an arrow to the heart he wanted to defend himself to his son but he didn't know how, not that his son would hear him this was only a book; Luke was not here.

** "That's not an easy quest," I said. "Hercules did it."**

Hercules smirked getting glares from the other silently saying 'this is not the time for your ego' he rolled his eyes at them who cares if the stupid kid died he thought to himself

** "Exactly," Luke said. "Where's the glory in repeating what others have done?**

** All the gods know how to do is replay their past.**

"It's not replaying the past" Hestia said "it's remembering it like we should"

** My heart wasn't in it. The dragon in the garden gave me this"-he pointed angrily at his scar-"and when I came back, all I got was pity.**

Percy wanted to be angry but he couldn't he could, if only a little, understand Luke's anger, he didn't agree with it by any means, but he could understand it.

** I wanted to pull Olympus down stone by stone right then, but I bided my time. I began to dream of Kronos. He convinced me to steal something worthwhile, something no hero had ever had the courage to take.**

Zeus was furious that idiot hero he seethed to himself as he listened to his son read

** When we went on that winter-solstice field trip, while the other campers were asleep, I snuck into the throne room and took Zeus's master bolt right from his chair. Hades's helm of darkness, too. You wouldn't believe how easy it was. The Olympians are so arrogant; they never dreamed someone would dare steal from them.**

"He does make a good point" Hera said "I've been telling you that for years but…"

"Please not now" Zeus said putting his hand up to halt his wife's sentence

Hera stopped but her face still held that I told you so look on it

** Their security is horrible. I was halfway across New Jersey before I heard the storms rumbling, and I knew they'd discovered my theft."**

"Wow the kid made it pretty far" Ares had to admit

Hermes wanted to be proud it was an excellent heist but he couldn't be because his reasons were not true they were dark, and yet Hermes couldn't just give up on the boy just as he would never give up on pan

** The scorpion was sitting on my knee now, staring at me with its glittering eyes. I tried to keep my voice level. "So why didn't you bring the items to Kronos?"**

"He got caught" Nico said smugly

** Luke's smile wavered. "I … I got overconfident. Zeus sent out his sons and daughters to find the stolen bolt- Artemis, Apollo, my father, Hermes. But it was Ares who caught me. I could have beaten him, but I wasn't careful enough.**

"Please you couldn't have beaten him only Percy could have done that" Thalia bit out

Percy wanted to say that that was untrue Luke was much better than he had been at that time, but the look on her face kept him silent

** He disarmed me, took the items of power, threatened to return them to Olympus and burn me alive. Then Kronos's voice came to me and told me what to say. I put the idea in Ares's head about a great war between the gods. I said all he had to do was hide the items away for a while and watch the others fight.**

Ares grinned for a moment before glaring, he was torn thinking about how great the war would have been, and how it was pathetic that he had been tricked by a kid albeit one controlled by Kronos but still.

** Ares got a wicked gleam in his eyes. I knew he was hooked. He let me go, and I returned to Olympus before anyone noticed my absence." Luke drew his new sword. He ran his thumb down the flat of the blade, as if he were hypnotized by its beauty.**

Aphrodite shuddered "that thing is nowhere near beautiful it is an atrocity that shouldn't exist"

** "Afterward, the Lord of the Titans … h-he punished me with nightmares. I swore not to fail again.**

"And yet you still followed him why I don't get it" Nico stated

"He was angry and Kronos convinced him that he could have his revenge I get it he wasn't the only one like that" Percy said

"That doesn't make it right"

"No but I can still understand it I'm sure you can to Nico"

"What are you saying"

"I didn't mean it like that"

"Sorry I know and maybe I do understand it just a bit, but he's still a *$#*"

"Nico"

"Don't even, he deserves that"

** Back at Camp Half-Blood, in my dreams, I was told that a second hero would arrive, one who could be tricked into taking the bolt and the helm the rest of the way-from Ares down to Tartarus."**

Percy bristled at that he hated being used absolutely hated it

** "You summoned the hellhound, that night in the forest."**

Poseidon was outraged he wanted to take his anger out on something anything but there was nothing just a book

** "We had to make Chiron think the camp wasn't safe for you, so he would start you on your quest. We had to confirm his fears that Hades was after you. And it worked."**

** "The flying shoes were cursed," I said. "They were supposed to drag me and the backpack into Tartarus."**

Poseidon's hand itched to take hold of his trident but he held himself back his hands in tight fist blinded by anger and worry all at once

** "And they would have, if you'd been wearing them. But you gave them to the satyr, which wasn't part of the plan. Grover messes up everything he touches. He even confused the curse."**

"Go Grover mess up the evil dudes plan"

"Evil dude" Percy asked eyebrows raised

"Don't judge me"

"Nope, no judgment here"

** Luke looked down at the scorpion, which was now sitting on my thigh. "You should have died in Tartarus, Percy.**

Percy tensed, it seems like Luke might finally get his wish.

** But don't worry, I'll leave you with my little friend to set things right."**

Percy's friends and cousins and brothers and father all became increasingly worried percy was in the middle of the forest if he did get stung he would die before he even got out of the forest

** "Thalia gave her life to save you," I said, gritting my teeth. "And this is how you repay her?"**

"Not the right thing to say" Thalia said her voice grew soft

Percy huffed "it was true"

"I know but that's not the way he saw it"

** "Don't speak of Thalia!" he shouted. "The gods let her die! That's one of the many things they will pay for."**

"I didn't let my daughter die I turned her into a tree to preserve her life" Zeus defended and Thalia smiled it was nice to know your father cared and she didn't get that a lot from Zeus

**"You're being used, Luke. You and Ares both. Don't listen to Kronos."**

"Listen to them" Hermes whispered unable to do much more than just hope blindly that Luke would see the light

** "I've been used?" Luke's voice turned shrill. "Look at yourself. What has your dad ever done for you?**

Poseidon flinched at that

** Kronos will rise. You've only delayed his plans. He will cast the Olympians into Tartarus and drive humanity back to their caves. All except the strongest-the ones who serve him."**

"Well he didn't plan on Percy being there"

"He didn't plan on us being there" Percy corrected Thalia and Nico smiled

** "Call off the bug," I said. "If you're so strong, fight me yourself"**

Poseidon, Thalia, Nico, and Hazel brightened up maybe they all thought however

"That isn't going to work this time" Athena stated knowingly

"Could you not just let us have a little hope" Poseidon said and for once Athena looked a bit abashed at something Poseidon had said of all people

**Luke smiled. "Nice try, Percy. But I'm not Ares. You can't bait me. My lord is waiting, and he's got plenty of quests for me to undertake."**

"You're dumb like Ares" Thalia bit out

"hey" Ares growled

** "Luke-"**

** "Good-bye, Percy. There is a new Golden Age coming. You won't be part of it."**

"That name is so misleading; you'd think someone in history would have changed it to something more fitting" Percy thought out loud a few people cracked a smile the tension loosening for a moment. Leave it to Percy Nico thought shaking his head

** He slashed his sword in an arc and disappeared in a ripple of darkness.**

Percy braced himself knowing the pain would be coming at any moment

** The scorpion lunged.**

Everyone seemed to hold their breathes waiting Jason read quickly on

** I swatted it away with my hand and uncapped my sword. The thing jumped at me and I cut it in half in midair.**

The breaths were released for only a moment. Percy's hand twitched as the pain set in it burned through his body like a wild fire and although he had been expecting it the pain still hit him like a ton of bricks. He cried out his body tensing as the pain continued he could hear Thalia and Nico trying to help him, but his mind was cloudy the only thing he could focus on was the intense pain, he heard the sounds of Jason's rushed reading.

At Percy's cry the calm vanished. Thalia and Nico reacted they both gripped Percy trying to get him to answer, but his eyes remained unfocused they moved so they could lay Percy on the couch Thalia stayed sitting and put Percy's head in her lap like a pillow so she could keep a hold of him.

"Read Jason read" she cried

Poseidon couldn't breathe he watched his sons friends help Percy to lay down and in that moment he had seen Percy's face his eyes so unfocused and it was horrifying, like watching your child die in front of you and yet there was no wound for him to heal he could do nothing but watch his child suffer.

** I was about to congratulate myself until I looked down at my hand. My palm had a huge red welt, oozing and smoking with yellow guck. The thing had gotten me after all.**

"From when he swatted it" Athena said Poseidon silenced her he needed Jason to read quickly to stop his sons pain.

** My ears pounded. My vision went foggy. The water, I thought. It healed me before.**

The poisons too powerful Athena thought there was no way it could work his only hope was getting to Chiron

** I stumbled to the creek and submerged my hand, but nothing seemed to happen. The poison was too strong.**

Poseidon flinched even in the book he was useless.

Percy was lost his whole body was shivering but he was warm to the touch with fever Thalia ran her fingers through his hair trying to keep his attention to keep him awake. Nico was half on the floor half lying across Percy's stomach listening to his erratic heartbeat he knew Percy wouldn't die and yet it still terrified him.

** My vision was getting dark. I could barely stand up.**

"His heartbeats slowing down is that supposed to happen" Nico cried out

"It's just what's happening in the book"

'Are you sure'

'I don't know I don't know' Thalia said trying not to panic

Poseidon could no longer stand it, his brothers could look at him anyway they wanted. He stood swiftly and rushed to his sons side Thalia let Poseidon take Percy from her lap and Poseidon gently cradled his son to his chest he seemed so fragile as his body curled in on itself in pain he had not made another sounds since he had first cried out. His body had gone into shock. Percy felt himself being surrounded by warmth and he felt safe; he wanted more of that feeling amidst all the pain so he snuggled closer to that feeling. Poseidon had sat back down in his throne his son snuggled to his chest it broke his heart as his son snuggled into him his body shaking from pain.

Jason who had gotten distracted when Poseidon stood up began to read again

** Sixty seconds, Luke had told me.**

Nico leaned into Thalia, Percy his brother had been so close to dying, Nico wanted to cry but he held back Percy was ok he told himself no need to cry

** I had to get back to camp. If I collapsed out here, my body would be dinner for a monster. Nobody would ever know what had happened.**

Thalia and Hazel both drew in breathes, Hazel couldn't imagine a life without Percy there he was like a brother to her and Thalia she could picture only to clearly Percy dying alone in the woods with no friends there, no one. It made her shiver, hell the thought of Percy dying made her shiver but him being alone made it so much worse.

** My legs felt like lead. My forehead was burning. I stumbled toward the camp, and the nymphs stirred from their trees.**

"Oh thank goodness" Athena sighed out she had developed a soft spot for the boy she knew the spirits could get the boy to Chiron to safety

** "Help," I croaked. "Please …"**

Poseidon held his son tighter Percy's whole body went limp and Poseidon froze the only thing keeping him from freaking out was Percy's breathing his stomach moving with each breath and his heartbeat beating a steady rhythm. The boy had only passed out and Poseidon was grateful for that at least he could no longer feel the pain.

** Two of them took my arms, pulling me along. I remember making it to the clearing, a counselor shouting for help, a centaur blowing a conch horn.**

Everyone seemed to sigh in relief he was safe he was at camp

** Then everything went black.**

** I woke with a drinking straw in my mouth. I was sipping something that tasted like liquid chocolate-chip cookies. Nectar.**

Nico and Thalia looked toward Percy he lay still in Poseidon's arms still passed out

Apollo walked over and did a quick check up "he's not going to be waking up for a while" he said "the pain was too much and he passed out but his heartbeat has returned to normal and his vitals are fine" everyone felt relief, Poseidon sighed but didn't make a move to put Percy down not after that. He wanted to hold his son just for extra assurance

** I opened my eyes.**

** I was propped up in bed in the sickroom of the Big House, my right hand bandaged like a club. Argus stood guard in the corner. Annabeth sat next to me, holding my nectar glass and dabbing a washcloth on my forehead.**

"Aww" Aphrodite said softly her usual giddiness gone in the aftermath of panic

** "Here we are again," I said.**

** "You idiot," Annabeth said, which is how I knew she was overjoyed to see me conscious. **

Thalia smiled but made no comment everyone was silent all were relieved

**"You were green and turning gray when we found you. If it wasn't for Chiron's healing …"**

Poseidon paled and his grip tightened around his son momentarily

** "Now, now," Chiron's voice said. "Percy's constitution deserves some of the credit."**

"I'm sure he put up quite a fight" Thalia whispered

"Of course he did its Percy he might lose an arm or a leg but to throw it in altogether never" (the Weasley twins said this about harry I felt it worked for Percy to)

Hazel nodded agreeing with Nico Percy dying just seemed impossible like no matter what happened he would always make it out (Is It bad that I have this feeling that rick riordan might kill percy or at least make it seem like he did)

** He was sitting near the foot of my bed in human form, which was why I hadn't noticed him yet. His lower half was magically compacted into the wheelchair, his upper half dressed in a coat and tie. He smiled, but his face looked weary and pale, the way it did when he'd been up all night grading Latin papers.**

"He was worried" Theseus said and he knew how Chiron felt he had a feeling he wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight he'd be too busy making sure Percy was ok

** "How are you feeling?" he asked.**

** "Like my insides have been frozen, then microwaved."**

"How does he know how that feels"

"It's just a description Nico" Hazel said

"It's a dumb one no one else knows how that feels either"

"Maybe not but it sounds unpleasant enough I think we all get the picture"

** "Apt, considering that was pit scorpion venom. Now you must tell me, if you can, exactly what happened."**

** Between sips of nectar, I told them the story.**

"What a shock for Chiron" Thalia said

** The room was quiet for a long time.**

** "I can't believe that Luke …" Annabeth's voice faltered. Her expression turned angry and sad. "Yes. Yes, I can believe it. May the gods curse him…. He was never the same after his quest."**

"She may be able to believe it but she won't be able to accept it not that easily" Thalia said Athena wanted to defend her daughter but she could tell that Zeus's daughter was quite correct in this instance

** "This must be reported to Olympus," Chiron murmured. "I will go at once."**

** "Luke is out there right now," I said. "I have to go after him."**

"You're in no condition" Poseidon scolded to the unconscious Percy in his arms. Hestia smiled it seems Poseidon could change how long this change would last would be anyone's guess but he had proven that he could do it he could change

** Chiron shook his head. "No, Percy. The gods-"**

** "Won't even talk about Kronos," I snapped. "Zeus declared the matter closed!"**

Zeus grumbled a bit to himself but didn't say anything in honesty he didn't want it to be true because if it was then gods help them all

** "Percy, I know this is hard. But you must not rush out for vengeance. You aren't ready."**

** I didn't like it, but part of me suspected Chiron was right.**

"Good" Athena said "at least you have that much sense Perseus" the goddess seemed to have forgotten that Percy was passed out and couldn't hear a word she was saying

** One look at my hand, and I knew I wasn't going to be sword fighting any time soon. "Chiron … your prophecy from the Oracle … it was about Kronos, wasn't it? Was I in it? And Annabeth?"**

"What prophecy" Apollo said looking nervous he knew a big one was coming he could feel it but his oracle had yet to say it and he had a feeling that the two were one and the same

** Chiron glanced nervously at the ceiling. "Percy, it isn't my place-"**

"More like you're not allowed" Thalia stated

** "You've been ordered not to talk to me about it, haven't you?"**

"You still think like Percy"

"Well at least it's not word for word this time"

"still"

**His eyes were sympathetic, but sad. "You will be a great hero, child. I will do my best to prepare you. But if I'm right about the path ahead of you …"**

"Yeah see even Chiron believes you will be a great hero" Thalia said looking at the unconscious Percy

** Thunder boomed overhead, rattling the windows.**

Thalia rolled her eyes her father was so dramatic honestly

** "All right!" Chiron shouted. "Fine!"**

** He sighed in frustration. "The gods have their reasons, Percy. Knowing too much of your future is never a good thing."**

Apollo nodded that was very true

** "We can't just sit back and do nothing," I said.**

"We won't" Athena assured

** "We will not sit back," Chiron promised. "But you must be careful. Kronos wants you to come unraveled. He wants your life disrupted, your thoughts clouded with fear and anger. Do not give him what he wants. Train patiently. Your time will come."**

"Easier said than done when it comes to Percy"

"Yeah the patient part especially" Nico added "you know" he said looking at Thalia "if all I've heard and seen is correct then I don't think Percy has spent a full summer without a quest or something disrupting it"

Thalia thought about it "I think your right"

** "Assuming I live that long."**

"You will" Poseidon said in confidence

** Chiron put his hand on my ankle. "You'll have to trust me, Percy. You will live. But first you must decide your path for the coming year. I cannot tell you the right choice…." I got the feeling that he had a very definite opinion, and it was taking all his willpower not to advise me.**

"Well that's Chiron for you"

** "But you must decide whether to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round, or return to the mortal world for seventh grade and be a summer camper. Think on that. When I get back from Olympus, you must tell me your decision."**

"I wonder how his trip to Olympus was" Thalia wondered she always wondered how their parents acted when they weren't around. Did they worry, was Percy's dad freaked out when Chiron had told them, what had happened, had Hermes gotten depressed or had they bottled up all those emotions, had they even felt them at all? Thalia forced that last thought away; Percy had taught her to have faith in the gods to believe that they loved their kids even if they didn't always show it.

** I wanted to protest. I wanted to ask him more questions. But his expression told me there could be no more discussion; he had said as much as he could.**

Apollo pouted he wanted to know about this prophecy, it was hard to hear prophecies, but it was even harder to know that there was one out there and he didn't know what it was especially as the god of prophecies

** "I'll be back as soon as I can," Chiron promised. "Argus will watch over you."**

"He even managed to slip a pun in" Thalia said shaking her head in fondness

** He glanced at Annabeth. "Oh, and, my dear … whenever you're ready, they're here."**

"Who's here" Thalia questioned

** "Who's here?" I asked.**

"I jinxed myself on that last one didn't I?"

** Nobody answered.**

(if Percy was awake I would have made a nobody joke oh well there will be plenty of those in the next book yay nobody!)

** Chiron rolled himself out of the room. I heard the wheels of his chair clunk carefully down the front steps, two at a time.**

** Annabeth studied the ice in my drink.**

"I still want to know who is here" Thalia stated

** "What's wrong?" I asked her.**

** "Nothing." She set the glass on the table. "I … just took your advice about something. You … um … need anything?"**

** "Yeah. Help me up. I want to go outside."**

"He's just woken up from almost dying and he wants to go outside" Thalia rolled her eyes

**"Percy, that isn't a good idea."**

** I slid my legs out of bed. Annabeth caught me before I could crumple to the floor. A wave of nausea rolled over me.**

"Stubborn much" Hazel said laughing

** Annabeth said, "I told you …"**

** "I'm fine," I insisted. I didn't want to lie in bed like an invalid while Luke was out there planning to destroy the Western world.**

Hazel sighed "did what Chiron just say go in one ear and out the other"

"Percy can be hardheaded"

** I managed a step forward. Then another, still leaning heavily on Annabeth. Argus followed us outside, but he kept his distance.**

** By the time we reached the porch, my face was beaded with sweat. My stomach had twisted into knots. But I had managed to make it all the way to the railing.**

Nico shook his head Percy was such an idiot at times

** It was dusk. The camp looked completely deserted. The cabins were dark and the volleyball pit silent. No canoes cut the surface of the lake. Beyond the woods and the strawberry fields, the Long Island Sound glittered in the last light of the sun.**

"Its sounds beautiful and sad at the same time" Hestia said

** "What are you going to do?" Annabeth asked me.**

** "I don't know."**

"Still jeez Percy you think you would have made up your mind already"

** I told her I got the feeling Chiron wanted me to stay year-round, to put in more individual training time, but I wasn't sure that's what I wanted. I admitted I'd feel bad about leaving her alone, though, with only Clarisse for company….**

**Annabeth pursed her lips, then said quietly, "I'm going home for the year, Percy."**

Thalia smiled glad Annabeth had listened to Percy's advice she knew the girl was much happier for it

** I stared at her. "You mean, to your dad's?"**

** She pointed toward the crest of Half-Blood Hill. Next to Thalia's pine tree, at the very edge of the camp's magical boundaries, a family stood silhouetted-two little children, a woman, and a tall man with blond hair. They seemed to be waiting. The man was holding a backpack that looked like the one Annabeth had gotten from Waterland in Denver.**

Athena smiled glad her daughter was trying glad that her father was trying too she wanted her daughter to have a good father and she would have to think that she had chosen a jerk

** "I wrote him a letter when we got back," Annabeth said. "Just like you suggested. I told him … I was sorry. I'd come home for the school year if he still wanted me. He wrote back immediately. We decided … we'd give it another try."**

"Wow that had to have been hard taking the first step like that" Hazel said

** "That took guts."**

** She pursed her lips. "You won't try anything stupid during the school year, will you? At least … not without sending me an Iris-message?"**

"He doesn't need to try he just somehow manages it" Poseidon groaned at Thalia's words his son was going to kill him

** I managed a smile. "I won't go looking for trouble. I usually don't have to."**

"He's got that right" Nico commented

** "When I get back next summer," she said, "we'll hunt down Luke. We'll ask for a quest, but if we don't get approval, we'll sneak off and do it anyway. Agreed?"**

"Wow" Nico said from the stories he heard that's exactly what they had planned to do "annabeth can tell the future"

** "Sounds like a plan worthy of Athena."**

** She held out her hand. I shook it.**

"This is the beginning of a great friendship" Nico stated

"And an unbeatable team" Thalia added

"Don't I know it" Nico replied

** "Take care, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth told me. "Keep your eyes open."**

** "You too, Wise Girl."**

"Aww" Aphrodite cooed

** I watched her walk up the hill and join her family. She gave her father an awkward hug and looked back at the valley one last time. She touched Thalia's pine tree, then allowed herself to be lead over the crest and into the mortal world.**

"Good for you Annie good for you" Thalia said

** For the first time at camp, I felt truly alone. I looked out at Long Island Sound and I remembered my father saying, The sea does not like to be restrained.**

"That sentence alone describes Percy to a t"

** I made my decision.**

** I wondered, if Poseidon were watching, would he approve of my choice?**

"Of course I would I would be worried but I would approve"

** "I'll be back next summer," I promised him. "I'll survive until then. After all, I am your son." I asked Argus to take me down to cabin three, so I could pack my bags for home.**

Poseidon smiled yes he thought looking down at his son in his arms yes you are

"That's it" Jason said "that's the end of the book" Jason sighed as he closed it who would have guessed Percy's life would be so chaotic. He held a bit more respect for him, but his jealousy remained the feeling just wouldn't leave him. Jason had to wonder if it ever would.

"Alright" Hera said "I think that's it for today we'll start the next book tomorrow" everyone agreed and they stood stretching and made their way to their rooms. Poseidon followed behind Theseus and Orion carrying Percy safely in his arms they would talk tomorrow right now he would let the boy sleep and dream.

AN: whooooohoooo that's it guys last chapter! I thought I might do another chapter in this story but I'm going to call it complete and just move along to Sea of Monsters. I'm so looking forward to this next book and can you believe how quick I got this done I had a day off so I spent the whole day writing so bam here it is. Also I think maybe Percy's reaction might have been a bit over the top but I followed by the book and I wanted it to be a bit more dramatic besides I think that pain rates in around the top ten and he did almost die so oh well I like it. I hope you enjoy the last chapter to the lightning thief REVIEW pretty please with whatever you like the best on top :D


	31. Chapter 31

AN: ok this isn't part of the story nor does it have anything to do with the story, but I just want to hear your opinions on this. Ok so recently I was watching Winnie the Pooh's Grand Adventure don't judge it's a cute movie. Anyway I remember the two songs from the movie that I loved and I went on youtube and this guy put them together and it was awesome. The more I listened all I could think about was that it was the perfect song for the Weasley twins. I could see George singing this after Fred died and I wanted to know if any of you agree so here are the lyrics it's called _Forever and Ever by Jake White _(search that on youtube)

**Come out moon**

**Come out wishing star**

**Come out come out **

**Wherever you are**

**I'm out here in the dark**

**All alone and wide awake**

**Come and find me**

**I'm empty and I'm cold**

**And my hearts about to break **

**Come and find me **

**I need you to come here and find me **

**Because without you I'm totally lost **

**I've hung a wish on every star **

**It hasn't done much good so far**

**I can only dream of you **

**Wherever you are**

**I wanna call your name forever**

**And you will always answer forever**

**And both of us will be forever you and me **

**Forever and ever**

**I wanna stay like this forever **

**If only I could promise forever**

**Then we could just be we**

**Forever you and me forever and ever**

**Forever and ever is a very long time true**

**But forever isn't long at all **

**When I'm with you**

**I'll hear you laugh I'll see you smile **

**I'll be with you just for a little while **

**But when the morning comes **

**And that sun begins to rise **

**I will lose you**

**Cause it's just a dream **

**When I open up my eyes **

**I will lose you**

**I used to believe in forever **

**But forever's too good to be true **

**I've hung a wish on every star **

**It hasn't done much good so far **

**I don't know what else to do **

**Except to try to dream of you **

**I wonder if you're dreaming too **

**Wherever you are**

**I wanna be with you forever **

**I want you right here beside me forever **

**One thing you should know no matter where I go**

**Well always be together **

**Wherever you are**

**Forever and ever**

AN: so what do you think review and let me know or PM me either way thanks guys


	32. Chapter 32

AN: hey guys I just released the first chapter of the next book the title is The Big Three and the Sea of Monsters. thanks everyone and I hope you enjoy it :)


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